Latest news with #Southwest2504
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NTSB chairwoman points finger at private jet crew for near collision at Midway Airport
CHICAGO (WGN) — The chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday pointed the blame of Tuesday's near-collision at Midway International Airport at the operator of the private jet. Video recorded by StreamTimeLive shows Southwest 2504 from Omaha abort its landing at Midway shortly before 9 a.m. when a private, Bombardier Challenger 350 aircraft crossed its path. 'It appears this was a failure of the flight crew from Flexjet to listen and abide by the instructions of air traffic control,' NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said on Wednesday morning's edition of 'Fox & Friends' on the Fox News Channel. 'They were supposed to line up and wait and hold short of runway 31C, which Southwest was landing on, and they failed to do so.' Video captures near-miss between Southwest Airlines plane, jet on runway at Chicago's Midway Airport She added that her agency would collect a recording of the air traffic control communications at the time of the incident, and she said NTSB has requested the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder from the Flexjet. No one was injured in Tuesday's incident, and passengers on the Southwest flight who spoke with WGN said they were immediately unaware of the potential disaster that was averted. 'We didn't even realize we were head on and of course, none of us could see anything out the window,' said passenger Emily Novak. 'Unlike the other plane, who was watching from their windows, us coming straight at them.' Novak praised their pilot for staying calm and carrying out a last second, potentially life-saving maneuver. In addition to the NTSB, the Federal Aviation Administration will also investigate the incident. Tuesday's near-miss followed a string of recent aviation incidents, including a deadly midair collision over the Potomac River, the Philadelphia Medevac (short for medical evacuation) crash, a fatal aircraft collision near the Marana Regional Airport in Arizona, and another incident in Alaska earlier this month that killed 10 people. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
26-02-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Southwest Airlines flight abruptly rises to avoid another plane crossing Chicago runway
Audio recording of communication between the smaller jet and the control tower recorded its pilot misstating instructions from a ground tower employee, who repeated that the pilot should 'hold short' of a runway. About 30 seconds later, the ground tower ordered the pilot 'hold your position there.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The tower employee is then heard saying: 'FlexJet560, your instructions were to hold short of runway 31 center.' Advertisement Separately, a recording of communication between the Southwest crew and another ground tower employee captured its pilot reporting 'Southwest 2504 going around' and following directions to climb back to 3,000 feet. Seconds later, the audio captures the pilot asking the tower: 'Southwest 2504, how'd that happen?' The second plane, described as a business jet, entered the runway without authorization, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Flexjet, the plane's owner, said the company is aware 'of the occurrence in Chicago.' 'Flexjet adheres to the highest safety standards and we are conducting a thorough investigation,' a spokesperson said in a statement. 'Any action to rectify and ensure the highest safety standards will be taken.' Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board say they are investigating. The Southwest Flight was en route to Midway Airport from Omaha, Nebraska, according to FlightAware. Air traffic control audio makes clear that the business jet failed to heed clear instruction not to cross the runway, said Jeff Guzzetti, a former NSTB member and former FAA investigator. Guzzetti called it a 'very serious runway incursion,' but added: 'However, the sky is not falling because last year was the lowest recorded number of serious runway incursions in a decade.' Advertisement There were 22 of these serious events in 2023, but just seven in 2024, he said, citing FAA data. There can be several factors that contribute to these incidents, Guzzetti said: 'Was the crew distracted? Was the controller overworked?' U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said Tuesday afternoon on X that while the NTSB and the FAA are investigating, one thing is clear: 'However, it is imperative that pilots follow the instructions of air traffic controllers. If they do not, their licenses will be pulled.' John Goglia, a former NTSB member, said the near-crash shows 'the system worked exactly as it was designed to.' That is because the Southwest pilot was aware that the other plane wasn't going to stop in time, he said. Investigators will likely look at factors including how well-staffed the tower was and whether instructions coming out of the tower were clear, he said. 'Those things do happen,' he said, citing possible miscommunication, including a pilot mishearing instructions. The past few weeks have seen four major aviation disasters in North America. They include the Feb. 6 crash of a commuter plane in Alaska that killed all 10 people on board and the Jan. 26 midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport that killed all 67 aboard the two aircraft. Related : A medical transport jet with a child patient, her mother and four others aboard crashed Jan. 31 into a Philadelphia neighborhood. That crash killed seven people, including all those aboard, and injured 19 others. Advertisement Twenty-one people were injured Feb. 17 when a Delta flight flipped and landed on its roof at Toronto's Pearson Airport. Williams reported from Detroit. Associated Press writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu contributed to this report.
Los Angeles Times
26-02-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Southwest Airlines flight abruptly rises to avoid another plane crossing Chicago runway
CHICAGO — Pilots on a Southwest Airlines flight attempting to land at Chicago's Midway Airport were forced to climb back into the sky to avoid another aircraft crossing the runway Tuesday. Airport webcam video posted to X shows the Southwest plane approaching a runway just before 9 a.m. Tuesday before its nose abruptly pulls up. A smaller jet is seen crossing the runway where the passenger plane was about to land. Southwest Flight 2504 safely landed 'after the crew performed a precautionary go-around to avoid a possible conflict with another aircraft that entered the runway,' an airline spokesperson said in an email. 'The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident.' Audio recording of communication between the smaller jet and the control tower recorded its pilot misstating instructions from a ground tower employee, who repeated that the pilot should 'hold short' of a runway. About 30 seconds later, the ground tower ordered the pilot 'hold your position there.' The tower employee is then heard saying: 'FlexJet560, your instructions were to hold short of runway 31 center.' Separately, a recording of communication between the Southwest crew and another ground tower employee captured its pilot reporting 'Southwest 2504 going around' and following directions to climb back to 3,000 feet. Seconds later, the audio captures the pilot asking the tower: 'Southwest 2504, how'd that happen?' The second plane, described as a business jet, entered the runway without authorization, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Flexjet, the plane's owner, said the company is aware 'of the occurrence in Chicago.' 'Flexjet adheres to the highest safety standards and we are conducting a thorough investigation,' a spokesperson said in a statement. 'Any action to rectify and ensure the highest safety standards will be taken.' Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board say they are investigating the incident. The Southwest flight was en route to Midway Airport from Omaha, according to FlightAware. Air traffic control audio makes clear that the business jet failed to heed clear instruction not to cross the runway, said Jeff Guzzetti, a former NSTB member and former FAA investigator. Guzzetti called it a 'very serious runway incursion,' but added: 'However, the sky is not falling, because last year was the lowest recorded number of serious runway incursions in a decade.' There were 22 of these serious events in 2023, but just seven in 2024, he said, citing FAA data. There can be several factors that contribute to these incidents, Guzzetti said: 'Was the crew distracted? Was the controller overworked?' U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said Tuesday afternoon on X that while the NTSB and the FAA are investigating, one thing is clear: 'It is imperative that pilots follow the instructions of air traffic controllers. If they do not, their licenses will be pulled.' John Goglia, a former NTSB member, said the near-crash shows 'the system worked exactly as it was designed to.' That is because the Southwest pilot was aware that the other plane wasn't going to stop in time, he said. In probing the incident, investigators will likely look at factors including how well-staffed the tower was and whether instructions coming out of the tower were clear, he said. 'Those things do happen,' he said, citing possible miscommunication, including a pilot mishearing instructions. The last few weeks have seen four major aviation disasters in North America. They include the Feb. 6 crash of a commuter plane in Alaska that killed all 10 people on board and the Jan. 26 midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport that killed all 67 aboard the two aircraft. A medical transport jet with a child patient, her mother and four others aboard crashed Jan. 31 into a Philadelphia neighborhood. That crash killed seven people, including all those aboard, and injured 19 others. Twenty-one people were injured Feb. 17 when a Delta flight flipped and landed on its roof at Toronto's Pearson Airport. Associated Press writer Williams reported from Detroit, Foody from Chicago. AP writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu contributed to this report.
The Hill
25-02-2025
- General
- The Hill
Southwest Airlines flight abruptly rises to avoid another plane crossing Chicago runway
CHICAGO (AP) — Pilots on a Southwest Airlines flight attempting to land at Chicago's Midway Airport were forced to make the plane climb suddenly to avoid another aircraft crossing the runway. Airport webcam video posted to X shows the Southwest plane appear to briefly touch down about 8:50 a.m. CST Tuesday before its nose was abruptly pulled up as the second plane is seen on the runway. Southwest Flight 2504 safely landed 'after the crew performed a precautionary go-around to avoid a possible conflict with another aircraft that entered the runway,' an airline spokesperson said in an email. 'The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident.' Audio recording of communication between the crew and the tower includes the ground tower employee breaking off mid-message to the plane. The pilot then said 'Southwest 2504 going around' and followed directions to climb back to 3,000 feet. Seconds later, the audio captures the pilot asking the tower: 'Southwest 2504, how'd that happen?' The second plane, described as a business jet, entered the runway without authorization, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Flexjet, the plane's owner, said the company is aware 'of the occurrence in Chicago.' 'Flexjet adheres to the highest safety standards and we are conducting a thorough investigation,' a spokesperson said in a statement. 'Any action to rectify and ensure the highest safety standards will be taken.' Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board say they are investigating the incident. The Southwest Flight was enroute to Midway Airport from Omaha, Nebraska, according to FlightAware.
The Independent
25-02-2025
- The Independent
Southwest Airlines flight abruptly rises to avoid another plane crossing Chicago runway
Pilots on a Southwest Airlines flight attempting to land at Chicago 's Midway Airport were forced to make the plane climb suddenly to avoid another aircraft crossing the runway. Airport webcam video posted to X shows the Southwest plane appear to briefly touch down about 8:50 a.m. CST Tuesday before its nose was abruptly pulled up as the second plane is seen on the runway. Southwest Flight 2504 safely landed 'after the crew performed a precautionary go-around to avoid a possible conflict with another aircraft that entered the runway,' an airline spokesperson said in an email. 'The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident." Audio recording of communication between the crew and the tower includes the ground tower employee breaking off mid-message to the plane. The pilot then said 'Southwest 2504 going around' and followed directions to climb back to 3,000 feet. Seconds later, the audio captures the pilot asking the tower: 'Southwest 2504, how'd that happen?' The second plane, described as a business jet, entered the runway without authorization, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Flexjet, the plane's owner, said the company is aware 'of the occurrence in Chicago." 'Flexjet adheres to the highest safety standards and we are conducting a thorough investigation,' a spokesperson said in a statement. "Any action to rectify and ensure the highest safety standards will be taken.' Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board say they are investigating the incident. The Southwest Flight was enroute to Midway Airport from Omaha, Nebraska, according to FlightAware.
