Minutes after takeoff Friday, a Southwest flight leaving Burbank, California, descended after two onboard alerts, injuring two flight attendants and frightening passengers, the airline and people on board said.
Southwest did not provide additional details about the alerts.
“The Crew of Southwest Flight 1496 responded to two onboard traffic alerts Friday afternoon while climbing out of Burbank, Cal., requiring them to climb and descend to comply with the alerts,” Southwest said in a statement.
Passengers said they were shaken by the incident, and one said he thought the plane was going to crash.
“Pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid midair collision over Burbank airport,” comedian Jimmy Dore said on X. “Myself & Plenty of people flew out of their seats & bumped heads on ceiling, a flight attendant needed medical attention.”
Passenger Steve Ulasewicz told NBC Los Angeles that the incident happened about eight minutes into the flight and passengers felt “a significant drop for about two seconds,” which he attributed to turbulence.
“Then maybe like three seconds after that the plane was in a freefall” for around eight to 10 seconds, he told the station by phone. “People were screaming. You know, it was pandemonium. People thought the plane was going down.”
The Las Vegas-bound plane landed at its destination without incident, Southwest Airlines said.
“No injuries were immediately reported by Customers, but two Flight Attendants are being treated for injuries,” Southwest said.
A spokesperson for Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas said that medical personnel responded to the gate and one injured person was transported.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was aware of an incident.
“The FAA is in contact with Southwest Airlines and we are investigating,” the agency said. “Ensuring the safety of everyone in the national airspace system remains our top priority.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Todd Miyazawa contributed.
