A Southwest Airlines plane swiftly plummeted in elevation after flying from the Los Angeles area on Friday, with passengers reporting that the pilot was forced to change course quickly to prevent a collision with another aircraft.
Flight 1496 from Hollywood Burbank Airport to Las Vegas plummeted rapidly, lifting passengers from their seats and injuring two flight attendants.
Southwest claimed in a statement that the crew “responded to two onboard traffic alerts… requiring them to climb and descend to comply with the alerts.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it was investigating the incident. It occurs less than a week after a similar near miss.
“Ensuring the safety of everyone in the national airspace system remains our top priority,” the FAA statement added.
Stand-up comedian Jimmy Dore was onboard the jet and told passengers that the erratic movement was caused by a near miss with another airliner.
“The pilot said his collision warning went off & he needed to avoid the plane coming at us. Wow,” Dore wrote on X. “A flight attendant needed medical attention.”
His colleague Stef Zamorano stated that all of the passengers applauded as the plane arrived.
Caitlin Burdi told Fox News that passengers were “screaming” as the jet plummeted.
“It was terrifying. We really thought we were plummeting to a plane crash,” she said.
She went on to explain that the pilot came over to the speaker later to announce that the plane had nearly collided with another plane and that they had lost touch with air traffic control.
