Latest news with #aviationsafety
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
US passenger plane evacuated in Denver due to brake fire
Passengers on a US domestic flight were forced to evacuate onto a runway due to a brake fire just ahead of the plane taking off in Denver, the airline said. American Airlines Flight 3023 was departing for Miami on Saturday but 'experienced a mechanical issue' while accelerating ahead of takeoff at Denver International Airport, the airline told AFP, adding all 173 passengers and six crew 'deplaned safely.' One passenger sustained a minor injury and was taken to a hospital for evaluation, American Airlines said. Blown tires and the deceleration of the plane while braking resulted in an isolated brake fire, which was extinguished by city firefighters, according to the airline. Social media videos published by US media outlets showed passengers frantically evacuating an American Airlines plane via an emergency slide as smoke billowed from beneath the aircraft. A man held a child as they rushed down the slide, stumbling as he hit the ground. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that the crew onboard the Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane 'reported a possible landing gear incident during departure' at around 2:45 pm Saturday. The FAA said it was investigating the incident. It occurred just a day after a Southwest Airlines flight plunged mid-air to avoid colliding with another aircraft while en route to Las Vegas, injuring two flight attendants. The latest scare adds to growing concerns over aviation safety in the United States after a string of recent accidents and near misses. In January, a mid-air collision between a commercial aircraft approaching Ronald Reagan Airport near downtown Washington and a military helicopter killed 67 people. In May, US President Donald Trump's administration announced plans to overhaul its 'antiquated' air traffic control system, which suffers from a shortage of controllers in FAA-managed towers. The government has laid off hundreds of FAA employees as part of its plan to slash the federal workforce.
Arab News
3 days ago
- General
- Arab News
US passenger plane evacuated in Denver due to brake fire
WASHINGTON: Passengers on a US domestic flight were forced to evacuate onto a runway due to a brake fire just ahead of the plane taking off in Denver, the airline said. American Airlines Flight 3023 was departing for Miami on Saturday but 'experienced a mechanical issue' while accelerating ahead of takeoff at Denver International Airport, the airline told AFP, adding all 173 passengers and six crew 'deplaned safely.' One passenger sustained a minor injury and was taken to a hospital for evaluation, American Airlines said. Blown tires and the deceleration of the plane while braking resulted in an isolated brake fire, which was extinguished by city firefighters, according to the airline. Social media videos published by US media outlets showed passengers frantically evacuating an American Airlines plane via an emergency slide as smoke billowed from beneath the aircraft. A man held a child as they rushed down the slide, stumbling as he hit the ground. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that the crew onboard the Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane 'reported a possible landing gear incident during departure' at around 2:45 p.m. Saturday. The FAA said it was investigating the incident. It occurred just a day after a Southwest Airlines flight plunged mid-air to avoid colliding with another aircraft while en route to Las Vegas, injuring two flight attendants. The latest scare adds to growing concerns over aviation safety in the United States after a string of recent accidents and near misses. In January, a mid-air collision between a commercial aircraft approaching Ronald Reagan Airport near downtown Washington and a military helicopter killed 67 people. In May, US President Donald Trump's administration announced plans to overhaul its 'antiquated' air traffic control system, which suffers from a shortage of controllers in FAA-managed towers. The government has laid off hundreds of FAA employees as part of its plan to slash the federal workforce.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Southwest passenger describes horror of plummeting mid-air as screams filled the cabin as pilot avoided crash
A passenger aboard a Southwest flight that was forced to make an evasive maneuver to avoid a mid-air collision said screams filled the cabin as they narrowly missed another aircraft. Caitlin Burdi told Fox News that she feared for her life aboard the flight on Friday from Burbank, California, to Las Vegas when the jet dropped 475 feet within seconds to avoid colliding with a Hawker Hunter military fighter aircraft in its path. 'About 10 minutes into the flight, we plummeted pretty far, and I looked around, and everyone was like, "OK, that's normal",' Burdi said. 'Then, within two seconds, it felt like the ride Tower of Terror, where we fell 20 to 30 feet in the air. The screaming, it was terrifying. We really thought we were plummeting to a plane crash. 'It was absolutely terrifying, just remember him saying, "What just happened was we almost collided with another plane, and I had to make the emergency attempt to go under because we lost service with the air traffic controller."' Southwest passengers were hurled out of their seats and onto the plane's ceiling and two flight attendants were injured after the pilot made the evasive maneuver. Southwest Flight 1496 was climbing towards its cruising altitude on the 73-minute journey to Las Vegas at around 11am on Friday and was passing through 14,100 ft when the plane suddenly plunged without warning. The military jet was at 14,653 ft. Also among the passengers included comedian Jimmy Dore, who described the terrifying few seconds when 'plenty of people flew out of their seats.' Two flight attendants were hurt during the ordeal, according to the airline. The commercial aircraft continued its journey and landed safely in Las Vegas. 'Just now on SW Flight #1496 Burbank to Las Vegas,' the comedian posted to X and his 700,000 followers. 'Pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid midair collision over Burbank airport. Myself & plenty of people flew out of their seats & bumped heads on ceiling, a flight attendant needed medical attention,' Dore explained in his post. 'Pilot said his collision warning went off & he needed to avoid plane coming at us. Wow.' Dore said the pilot later told passengers that an aircraft collision warning had been triggered in the cockpit, forcing him to take immediate action to avoid another plane. Video shared by Dore's producer Stef Zamorano showed shaken passengers moments after the ordeal, still trying to process what had just occurred. 'Just a few minutes ago we ended up having crazy turbulence on this flight,' Zamorano said in the clip. 'Jimmy, have you ever had that kind of experience before?', she asked. 'Turns out that turbulence was the pilot taking an aggressive move because there was another plane coming at us. That's what it was. It was collision avoidance,' Dore explained. Dore said several passengers were violently flung upwards from their seats as the aircraft dropped suddenly. 'We were all shaken up,' Zamorano wrote. 'The flight erupted with applause once we landed.' 'The Crew of Southwest Flight 1496 responded to two onboard traffic alerts Friday afternoon while climbing out of Burbank, California requiring them to climb and descend to comply with the alerts,' the airline said in a statement. 'Southwest is engaged with the Federal Aviation Administration to further understand the circumstances. No injuries were immediately reported by Customers, but two Flight Attendants are being treated for injuries.' Another passenger on board, Steve Ulasewicz told NBC LA the dip occurred about eight minutes into the flight and lasted for about eight to 10 seconds. Ulasewicz said passengers were screaming during the drop before the plane leveled out. He explained how the pilot used software to avoid a midair collision. 'Felt a significant drop. The plane was just in a freefall. It was pandemonium,' Ulasewicz said. The drop occurred about a minute after the crew announced the beverage service was about to begin. Other passengers also commented online. 'Our pilot had to make the most insane dive ever to avoid the other aircraft,' one of the passengers wrote on Reddit. 'So many of us flew out of our seats for about 20 seconds, even with seatbelts on, and one of the flight attendants got hurt and needed medical attention after we landed,' the passenger recounted. 'I just wanted to thank the pilot, co-pilot, and flight attendants for keeping us safe.' Passengers said one flight attendant was dazed after hitting her head while another said he was quitting. Hollywood Burbank Airport said authorities are 'looking into the incident, however, there is currently no evidence that it occurred within the airspace above our airport.' An FAA spokesperson told on Friday night that, 'Southwest Airlines Flight 1496 responded to an onboard alert that another aircraft was in the vicinity while in Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center airspace. The FAA is investigating the event that occurred around 11am local time on Friday, July 25.' Sources familiar with aircraft warning systems say a TCAS alert likely triggered the evasive action. When the system detects another aircraft converging on a dangerous flight path, pilots are instructed to immediately alter altitude or direction - usually within seconds. Preliminary data shows the planes were several miles apart when the pilots received their alerts. The comedian detailed what happened in a post to his X account Near-miss incidents in congested airspace such as Los Angeles can occur when multiple departures or arrivals cross paths at varying altitudes, especially near busy hubs like LAX and Burbank airports. This close call is just the latest incident to raise questions about aviation safety in the wake of January's midair collision over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. Friday's incident comes just days after a similar scare on a Delta flight that narrowly avoided a military B-52 bomber, raising fresh concerns over air traffic safety in crowded US airspace. 'For those of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the airplane kind of sort of coming at us,' the Delta pilot told passengers over the intercom after safely landing. 'Nobody told us about it… Sorry about the aggressive maneuver. It caught me by surprise. This is not normal at all.' Flight DL3788 was forced to abort its landing, circle the airport and perform a go-around after an air traffic controller failed to warn the pilot of the approaching bomber. According to flight data, the aircraft made sharp turns and climbed abruptly to escape the collision path. While no injuries were reported in the Delta incident, passengers were visibly shaken. One woman said, 'We all just kind of looked at each other and stayed quiet. It felt like something really serious had just happened.' The Southwest and Delta incidents, occurring within a week of one another have reignited public concern over air traffic safety and coordination between commercial airlines and military aircraft, as well as the reliability of radar and separation systems in congested airspace. While mid-air collisions remain exceedingly rare, experts note that 'near misses' have been rising in frequency due to increased traffic volume, outdated radar coverage in some regions, and pressure on Air Traffic Control systems.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
Two injured after Southwest plane plummets to avoid potential collision
Two Southwest Airlines flight attendants are being treated for injuries after a passenger jet heading to Las Vegas from southern California took a dramatic plunge shortly after takeoff on Friday, the airline and passengers said. Southwest flight 1496, headed from Burbank to Las Vegas, received two alerts that made the plane climb and then descend, according to a statement from Southwest. Reported by ABC and according to flight trackers FlightRadar24 and AirNavRadar, the plane avoided a collision with a Hawker Hunter jet, currently registered to a 'Non-Citizen Corporation', according to FAA registration logs. Southwest said that the flight continued to Las Vegas, where it landed 'uneventfully', and that the airline is working with the FAA to 'further understand the circumstances of the event'. 'We are aware of an incident involving Southwest Airlines flight 1496. The FAA is in contact with Southwest and we are investigating. Ensuring the safety of everyone in the national airspace system remains our top priority,' the FAA said in a statement. A post on social media showed the path that the two planes took in a simulation video. The good news is your 737 got an automated alert, your crew did what they were supposed to do and so your aircraft didn't get dangerously close to the other (a Hawker Hunter jet fighter registered to a defense contractor). A passenger, Caitlin Burdi, likened the experience to the 'Tower of Terror' theme park ride during an interview with Fox News. 'About 10 minutes into the flight, we plummeted pretty far, and I looked around, and everyone was like, 'OK, that's normal,'' Burdi told Fox. 'Then, within two seconds, it felt like the ride Tower of Terror, where we fell 20 to 30 feet in the air. The screaming, it was terrifying. We really thought we were plummeting to a plane crash.' YouTube personality Jimmy Dore posted on social media from the flight. 'Myself and plenty of people flew out of their seats and bumped heads on ceiling, a flight attendant needed medical attention,' Dore wrote. 'Pilot said his collision warning went off and he needed to avoid plane coming at us.' This was at least the second near-miss for a midair collision in the US this week, after a Delta plane headed from Minneapolis to Minot, North Dakota, nearly collided with a B-52 bomber. In March, a passenger jet nearly collided with a military plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National airport, where a collision between an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter had killed at least 67 people just months before.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Southwest passengers hurled out of seats to avoid mid-air collision
Southwest passengers were hurled out of their seats and onto the plane's ceiling, and two flight attendants were injured after the pilot was forced to make an evasive maneuver to avoid a mid-air collision. The jet, which was flying from Burbank, California, to Las Vegas, dropped 475 feet within seconds to avoid colliding with a Hawker Hunter military fighter aircraft in its path. Southwest Flight 1496 was climbing toward its cruising altitude on the 73-minute journey at around 11am on Friday and was passing through 14,100 ft when it suddenly plunged. The military jet was at 14,653 ft. The dramatic dive to 13,625 ft was detailed by several passengers, including comedian Jimmy Dore, who described the terrifying few seconds when 'plenty of people flew out of their seats.' Two flight attendants were hurt during the ordeal, according to the airline. The commercial aircraft continued its journey and landed safely in Las Vegas. 'Just now on SW Flight #1496 Burbank to Las Vegas,' Dore posted to X. 'Pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid midair collision over Burbank airport. Myself & plenty of people flew out of their seats & bumped heads on ceiling, a flight attendant needed medical attention.' Dore said the pilot later told passengers that an aircraft collision warning had been triggered in the cockpit. Video shared by Dore's producer, Stef Zamorano, showed shaken passengers moments after the ordeal. 'Just a few minutes ago we ended up having crazy turbulence on this flight,' Zamorano said in the clip. 'Turns out that turbulence was the pilot taking an aggressive move because there was another plane coming at us. That's what it was. It was collision avoidance,' Dore added. He said several passengers were violently flung upwards as the aircraft dropped. 'We were all shaken up,' Zamorano wrote. 'The flight erupted with applause once we landed.' 'The screaming, it was terrifying. We really thought we were plummeting to a plane crash,' Burdi said. 'It was absolutely terrifying. I just remember him saying, "What just happened was we almost collided with another plane, and I had to make the emergency attempt to go under because we lost service with the air traffic controller."' Another passenger, Steve Ulasewicz, told NBC LA the dip occurred about eight minutes into the flight and lasted for 8 to 10 seconds. 'Felt a significant drop. The plane was just in a freefall. It was pandemonium,' he said. 'The drop occurred about a minute after the crew announced the beverage service was about to begin.' Other passengers also shared their shock online. 'Our pilot had to make the most insane dive ever to avoid the other aircraft,' one person wrote on Reddit. 'So many of us flew out of our seats for about 20 seconds, even with seatbelts on, and one of the flight attendants got hurt and needed medical attention after we landed.' Passengers said one flight attendant was dazed after hitting her head, while another said he was quitting. Hollywood Burbank Airport said authorities are 'looking into the incident, however, there is currently no evidence that it occurred within the airspace above our airport.' An FAA spokesperson told that 'Southwest Airlines Flight 1496 responded to an onboard alert that another aircraft was in the vicinity while in Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center airspace. The FAA is investigating the event that occurred around 11am local time on Friday, July 25.' Sources familiar with aircraft warning systems say a TCAS alert likely triggered the evasive action. When such a system detects another aircraft converging on a dangerous path, pilots are instructed to immediately alter altitude or direction—usually within seconds. Preliminary data shows the planes were several miles apart when alerts were triggered. This close call is just the latest to raise concerns about aviation safety following January's midair collision over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. It also comes days after a similar scare on a Delta flight that narrowly avoided a B-52 bomber. 'For those of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the airplane kind of sort of coming at us,' the Delta pilot said. 'Nobody told us about it… Sorry about the aggressive maneuver. It caught me by surprise. This is not normal at all.' While mid-air collisions are exceedingly rare, experts say 'near misses' are rising due to outdated radar coverage, traffic volume, and strain on air traffic control systems.
