Southwest Airlines passenger shares chilling experience after Boeing plane dropped to 175 feet above the ocean
File photo of a Boeing aircraft.
A Southwest Airlines passenger's story has sent chills down people's spine. The passenger from the United States posted a video from a flight that descended alarmingly close to the ocean before it was about to land.
Nancy Allen was ona Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft operated bySouthwest,flying from Columbus, Ohio, to Tampa, Florida, earlier this month. While the plane wasfour miles from the runway in Tampa, Flight 425 dropped to 175 feet above the ocean.
An air traffic controller had to notify the crew about their extremely low altitude, leading to the plane being diverted to Fort Lauderdale, about 200 miles away.
As the passengers started to panic, Allen sent her husband text messages. "I was concerned we were flying in a Tampa storm, so I opened my window," she told WFLA.
Watch |US: Donald Trump faces tough nominee Kamala Harris
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How fast can the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet really fly?
)
Did China ask its people 'not to respond to aliens'? Origin of bizarre claim on social media
)
MS Dhoni-CSK Fallout? Report claims failed stake sale talks triggered rift
)
Japan to go nuclear? Russia warns Tokyo could get nukes within a year
)
Scientists reveal the SAFEST COUNTRY when catastrophe strikes the planet
)
Serial killer on the loose in South Korea's Jeju Island? Fourth body found in three days as more than a dozen people go missing
)
2/3rd of glacier detached, collapsed: ISRO satellite images reveal what triggered Nepal floods
)
'If he is dead, they're putting on a pretty good show': Trump casts fresh doubt over Mojtaba Khamenei's fate
)
Trump once again claims without him there would be ‘no Israel right now’
)
Foreign espionage attacks against German companies surge to 37%, Bitkom report reveals
)
Blake Lively wins partial legal fee from Justin Baldoni after $8M request
)
Why is Pakistan deploying Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones near India border?
)
'OH MY GOD! We've found other agents!': Investigators discover not one or two, almost 700 OpenAI AI agents went rogue, hacked Hugging Face
)
Lunar eclipse 2026: India timings, places to see and more. August Blood moon factsheet
)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on global outreach tour
)
16-year-old charged with preparing terror attack on kindergarten in Norway
)
Nepal floods: Over 165 dead, 400 missing; US, India, China, World Bank mobilise aid
)
India's multi-layered watch: The new surveillance war
)
5 doomsday planes spotted in US skies hours after CIA director's secret trip to Russia
)
9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to finally face trial in 2028, nearly 27 years after horrific attacks
)
Islamabad hospital fire: What we know about one of the biggest facility that housed Imran Khan
)
Workers run for life while filming Nepal flash flood: Scary new visuals emerge from Rasuwa
)
Russian military planes enter South Korean air defence zone amid rising tensions with North Korea: What's happening
)
WATCH | ‘Orange snake’ in the hills: Vande Bharat’s stunning Western Ghats journey goes viral
)
400-year-old 'vampire' grave in Poland reveals non-existent genetic lineage
)
Dolly Parton, global icon and queen of country music, dies at 80
)
Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact
)
Ron Weasley Is Back! Rupert Grint set to return to Harry Potter universe on Broadway
)
Man arrested near US Capitol with guillotine in pickup truck: What happened?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI cockpit is painted bright turquoise green
"I was watching how we were approaching, we were coming around MacDill Air Force Base and I know you can’t fly over MacDill Force Base, it was just a unique approach," she added.
The video shot on her phone shows the Boeing plane rising back up after attempting to land in Tampa, then being redirected to Fort Lauderdale.
Allen explained that she realised something was wrong at that moment, saying, "I was feeling a little panic. At that moment I panicked, and I started texting my husband this is sketchy and I was texting him, abort, abort."
Even though the flight landed safely and no one was unharmed, Allen said that the reason behind the disturbance is still unknown.
"That was the worst flight I have been on in a really long time," she said.
FAA opens investigation into theincident
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the cause behind the incident.
"Southwest Flight 425 safely diverted to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 14 after the Crew discontinued their planned approach into Tampa International Airport. The aircraft returned to Tampa after a short time on the ground in Fort Lauderdale. Southwest is following its robust Safety Management System and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities with the aircraft’s final approach," a statement from Southwest Airlines said.
"Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees," it added.
This comes after a similar incident that happened last month when a Boeing 737 also operated bySouthwest Airlines descended to less than 500 feet over a town in Oklahoma.
(With inputs from agencies)
