A Southwest Airlines flight nearly collided with a private jet which entered the Chicago Midway International Airport runway without authorization on Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Southwest Flight 2504 was forced to halt its landing process, pull back up into the air and perform a go-around to prevent a potential collision with the unauthorized Bombardier Challenger 350 jet at about 8:50 a.m. local time, CNN reported.
The FAA is now investigating the incident.
The Southwest plane was arriving from Omaha, Nebraska while the private jet was about to take off to Knoxville, Tennessee, according to FlightRadar24. Footage of the incident shows the Southwest plane within feet of touching down before it had to abort its plans.
Audio from the air traffic control tower details the moments leading up to the close call.
The audio, shared by LiveATC.net, also reveals exactly when the Southwest pilot had to change the plane’s touchdown plans to avoid the jet on the runway. Air traffic controllers replied, “2504, uh, roger that. Climb, maintain 3,000.”
After achieving the required 3,000 feet distance in the air, the confused pilot asked the tower: “Southwest 2504, uh, how’d that happen?”
“The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident,” a Southwest spokesperson told CNN in a statement. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”
The Chicago incident comes as the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA face numerous safety incidents in recent weeks.
These include the Jan. 29 collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter over the Potomac River, the Delta flight that crash landed at Toronto Pearson Airport, the Medevac jet crash in Philadelphia, and a deadly regional airline crash off the coast of Alaska.
