Two flight attendants on a Southwest Airlines Co. jet were injured Friday after the pilot had to maneuver sharpl
y in response to alerts that another aircraft was in the vicinity.
About six minutes after takeoff, Southwest Airlines flight 1496 dropped 625 feet — to 13,475 feet from 14,100 f
eet, according to Flightradar24, a website that tracks flights.
The airline said in a statement that the crew received two traf
fic safety alerts while climbing out of Burbank, California, “requiring them to climb and descend to comply with the alerts.”
At their closest point, the two planes were 4.86 miles apart laterally, according to Flightradar24, with only 350 feet of vertical separation.
The US Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it’s investigating the incident.
ABC News reported that the aircraft the Southwest flig
ht maneuvered to avoid was a Hawker Hunter jet. A passenger describ
ed feeling a “significant drop” in an interview with the outlet.
Following the incident, the plane continued on to Las Vegas “where it landed uneventfully,” Southwest said.
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No injuries were reported immediately by customers. The two flight attendants were being treated, the carrier said.
The incident comes a week after a Delta Air Lines Inc. jet was forced to
abort landing to avoid a midair collision with a B-52 bomber in North Dakota.
Top photo: A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 plane takes off from
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, on Thursday, July 3, 2025.