Oklahoma, United States

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a United States government agency, said that it is investigating an incident where a Southwest Airlines flight dropped dangerously low over a town in the US state of Oklahoma before landing. The flight in question had descended to just 525 feet above ground as it approached the airport triggering an altitude warning from air traffic control. 

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About the incident

The incident took place on Wednesday (Jun 19) when Southwest Flight 4069 flying in from Las Vegas, Nevada was nine miles (14.5 kilometres away) from the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City and over the town of Yukon, Oklahoma when it descended to the low altitude just after midnight. 

 “After an automated warning sounded, an air traffic controller alerted the crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 4069 that the aircraft had descended to a low altitude nine miles away from Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City,” the FAA told CNN, in a statement, published on Friday (Jun 21). 

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“Southwest 4069, low altitude alert. You doing OK?” an air traffic controller asked the aircraft’s pilots, according to audio captured by LiveATC.net, reported the Associated Press. 

In response, one of the pilots of the Southwest Airlines operating Boeing 737-800 said they were “going around,” with the controller instructing the aviator to maintain an altitude of 3,000 feet.

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The data by FlightRadar24 shows that the plane quickly adjusted and climbed briefly before successfully landing at the airport in Oklahoma City. 

“It woke me up and I thought it was gonna hit my house,” a person wrote on the Yukon Happenings Facebook group, according to The Oklahoman. 

What did the airline say?

In a statement to Business Insider, a spokesperson for Southwest said that the airline is following its “robust” safety management system, adding that it is in contact with the FAA to “understand and address any irregularities with the aircraft’s approach to the airport.”

“Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees,” said the spokesperson. 

Previous incident

The close call on Wednesday was the second recent incident involving a Southwest flight narrowly missing the ground or in the previous case, the ocean. 

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In April, a Southwest flight nearly crashed into the ocean after a pilot accidentally sent the plane into a dive off the coast of Hawaii. 

The pilot had reportedly caused the aircraft to plummet from an altitude of 1,000 feet to just 400 above the Pacific Ocean in a couple of seconds amid bad weather. 

(With inputs from agencies)