Las Vegas-bound Southwest Airlines flight takes dramatic plunge in response to nearby aircraft
A Southwest Airline jet heading to Las Vegas from Southern California took a dramatic plunge shortly after takeoff Friday in response to an alert about a nearby plane, injuring two flight attendants, authorities and passengers said. Southwest flight 1496 was responding to an onboard alert about another aircraft in its vicinity, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The FAA is investigating. The crew responded to two air alerts that required the pilot to climb then descend, Southwest said in a statement. The flight departed from Hollywood Burbank Airport just before noon.Passengers posted on social media that the plane took a dramatic drop soon after takeoff. Data from the flight tracking site FlightAware shows it dropped roughly 300 feet (91.44 meters) in 36 seconds."Pilot said his collision warning went off & he needed to avoid plane coming at us," comedian Jimmy Dore posted on X.
The plane was in the same airspace near Burbank as a Hawker Hunter Mk. 58 just after noon local time, FlightAware shows. A Hawker Hunter is a British fighter plane. Records show its owned by Hawker Hunter Aviation Ltd, a British defense contracting company. The company didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment.Mike Christensen, an airport spokesman for Hollywood Burbank, said that neither the control tower or the operations department, which tracks planes departing and arriving, have any record of the Southwest flight plunging in their airspace.Southwest said the flight continued to Las Vegas, "where it landed uneventfully." The airline said that it is working with the FAA "to further understand the circumstances" of the event.
This close call is just the latest incident to raise questions about aviation safety in the wake of January's midair collision over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Time of India
Border courtesy continues between BSF, Pakistan Rangers
1 2 Amritsar: Even as Operation Sindoor remains on hold, an unwritten understanding continues between India's Border Security Force ( BSF ) and the Pakistan Rangers , reflecting mutual respect for rank and established border decorum. This courtesy persists even as the border gates between the two countries remain closed under the operation. At joint check posts (JCPs) in Punjab, where the two borders are separated by mere feet, junior officers or personnel customarily salute or come to attention upon encountering a senior-ranking official from the other side. This practice is most evident during patrols, security reviews, and joint meetings between the two forces. Referring to his recent visit to the Hussainiwala post, inspector general (IG) BSF, Punjab Frontier, Atul Fulzele said, "When I visited the Hussainiwala JCP, officers on the Pakistan side saluted me." He added that the gesture is reciprocal, with junior Indian officers also saluting senior-ranking Pakistani officers. According to him, this is part of a long-standing traditional border protocol observed by both forces. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Learn More - How Watching Videos Can Boost Your Income TheDaddest Undo Former IG BSF, Punjab Frontier, MS Malhi, said that although it may seem surprising that forces prepared to confront each other show respect for rank, this tradition of mutual courtesy continues despite the suspension of Operation Sindoor. He explained that this is a standard border practice, as personnel interact daily. Regardless of nationality, junior officers show respect to senior officers based on rank, which is universally recognised. Since the rank badges, dating back to British colonial times, are similar on both sides, personnel can easily identify and acknowledge each other's rank. "It is simply a routine gesture of respect," he said. Another former IG BSF, Punjab Frontier, Himmat Singh, added that junior officers mostly salute seniors during official meetings. "But sometimes, out of traditional border courtesy, the junior officials come to attention on seeing a senior officer of the other country," he said.
Time of India
16 hours ago
- Time of India
Passengers Jump For Their Lives In Denver Inferno, Evacuation Turns Chaotic In Viral Video
Panic unfolded on the tarmac at Denver International Airport as an American Airlines flight bound for Miami was forced to evacuate after its landing gear caught fire. Shocking footage shows passengers scrambling down emergency slides as thick smoke and flames billowed from the Boeing 737 MAX 8. One man, clutching a child and suitcase, dramatically fell while fleeing the scene. All 179 people onboard made it out safely, with one hospitalized. The FAA has launched an investigation into the incident, calling it a "possible landing gear failure." Read More
New Indian Express
21 hours ago
- New Indian Express
The Secret Sauce of Civilisation
That night, as I stood on the pavement outside a vending machine selling cold tea and hot noodles, I was struck by the thought that food is still the last honest language left to us. It carries no passports, only memory. A Bengali migrant in Manhattan clings to his hilsa not for taste, but for nostalgia. A Syrian in Berlin seeks shawarma as one might seek a homeland. Even here in Kozhikode, where I now live and teach, I have learned to make peace with food cooked in coconut oil—strictly a haircare solution back home in Bengal. I have tasted puttu, avial, and other dishes that speak of lands I did not inherit, but now inhabit. Civilisation, we are told, advances through conquest, through trade, through empire. But real progress happens through our digestive tract. The British came, saw, and took our spices—along with a lifetime of indigestion. They turned curry into something creamy, confused, and available at Heathrow for £14.99. India digests everything. Empires, religions, railway delays. What remains is a chutney of contradictions—a flavourful, suspiciously sweet and sour melting pot. In the end, food isn't about hunger. It's about memory. Identity. The soft ache of once belonging, the louder growl of still trying. Food is how we remember who we are and who we once were.
