Latest news with #StefZamorano
Boston Globe
4 days ago
- General
- Boston Globe
Shocking plunge by Southwest flight from Southern California was to avoid another aircraft
'We really thought we were plummeting to a plane crash,' Burdi told Fox News Digital in an interview at the Las Vegas airport. She said the pilot told passengers they had nearly collided with another plane. The Federal Aviation Administration said the flight, Southwest 1496, was responding to an on board alert about another aircraft in its vicinity. The FAA is investigating. Southwest said the crew responded to two alerts that required the pilot to climb then descend. The flight left Hollywood Burbank Airport just before noon. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Another passenger, comedian Stef Zamorano, said she saw a woman who wasn't wearing her seat belt shoot up and out of her seat, and a man next to her was clutching her arm. A woman across the aisle was panicking, she said. Advertisement 'She was pretty much verbalizing how we all felt, saying, 'I want to get off this plane. I want to be on the ground',' Zamorano told The Associated Press on Friday. Another woman was panicking and saying she wanted 'to get off this plane.' The plane was in the same airspace near Burbank as a Hawker Hunter Mk. 58, according to the flight tracking site, FlightAware. Records show it is owned by Hawker Hunter Aviation, a British defense contracting company. Advertisement The company didn't respond to messages on Friday and Saturday seeking comment. 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.
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First Post
4 days ago
- General
- First Post
Southwest flight plunges after takeoff in near-miss with another aircraft; FAA launches probe
A Southwest Airlines flight from Burbank to Las Vegas plunged 300 feet seconds after takeoff to avoid a possible midair collision with a nearby fighter jet, leaving two flight attendants injured and passengers in shock. The FAA has launched an investigation read more A Southwest Airlines airplane travelling from Southern California to Las Vegas plunged dramatically shortly after takeoff on Friday in response to a warning about a plane nearby, sending several passengers flying out of their seats and injuring two flight attendants. Stef Zamorano, who was going to Las Vegas with her husband to celebrate his birthday, reported that the plane shook abruptly immediately after takeoff and seemed like it was falling. Zamorano saw a woman who wasn't wearing a seat belt shoot up and out of her seat. The man sat next to her was grabbing her arm, and she said the woman across the aisle was terrified. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'She was pretty much verbalizing how we all felt, saying, 'I want to get off this plane. I want to be on the ground,' " Zamorano told The Associated Press. Data from the flight tracking site FlightAware shows it dropped roughly 300 feet (91.44 meters) in 36 seconds. The Federal Aviation Administration said the flight, Southwest 1496, was responding to an onboard alert about another aircraft in its vicinity. The FAA is investigating. Southwest said the crew responded to two alerts that required the pilot to climb then descend. The flight departed from Hollywood Burbank Airport just before noon. Still in shock, Zamorano said she could hardly make out what the pilot was saying when he later addressed the passengers. Another passenger, comedian Jimmy Dore, posted on X that the pilot mentioned a near miss. 'Pilot said his collision warning went off & he needed to avoid plane coming at us,' Dore posted. 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 it is owned by Hawker Hunter Aviation, a British defense contracting company. The company didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Mike Christensen, an airport spokesman for Hollywood Burbank, said that neither the control tower nor 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.
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Southwest Airlines flight headed to Las Vegas takes dramatic plunge in response to nearby aircraft
LAS VEGAS — 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, sending some passengers flying out of their seats and injuring two flight attendants. The plane suddenly jolted shortly after takeover then felt like it was falling, said Stef Zamorano, who was flying to Las Vegas with her husband to celebrate his birthday. In front of her, Zamorano saw a woman who wasn't wearing her seat belt shoot up and out of her seat, her long hair flying in a tangled mess. The man seated next to her was clutching her arm, and she said the woman across the aisle was panicking. 'She was pretty much verbalizing how we all felt, saying, 'I want to get off this plane. I want to be on the ground,' ' Zamorano told The Associated Press. Data from the flight tracking site FlightAware shows it dropped roughly 300 feet in 36 seconds. The Federal Aviation Administration said the flight, Southwest 1496, was responding to an onboard alert about another aircraft in its vicinity. The FAA is investigating. Southwest said the crew responded to two alerts that required the pilot to climb then descend. The flight departed from Hollywood Burbank Airport just before noon. Still in shock, Zamorano said she could hardly make out what the pilot was saying when he later addressed the passengers. Another passenger, comedian Jimmy Dore, posted on X that the pilot mentioned a near miss. 'Pilot said his collision warning went off & he needed to avoid plane coming at us,' Dore posted. 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 it is owned by Hawker Hunter Aviation, 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 nor 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.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Southwest passengers hurled out of seats to avoid mid-air collision
Southwest passengers were hurled out of their seats and onto the plane's ceiling, and two flight attendants were injured after the pilot was forced to make an evasive maneuver to avoid a mid-air collision. The jet, which was flying from Burbank, California, to Las Vegas, dropped 475 feet within seconds to avoid colliding with a Hawker Hunter military fighter aircraft in its path. Southwest Flight 1496 was climbing toward its cruising altitude on the 73-minute journey at around 11am on Friday and was passing through 14,100 ft when it suddenly plunged. The military jet was at 14,653 ft. The dramatic dive to 13,625 ft was detailed by several passengers, including comedian Jimmy Dore, who described the terrifying few seconds when 'plenty of people flew out of their seats.' Two flight attendants were hurt during the ordeal, according to the airline. The commercial aircraft continued its journey and landed safely in Las Vegas. 'Just now on SW Flight #1496 Burbank to Las Vegas,' Dore posted to X. 'Pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid midair collision over Burbank airport. Myself & plenty of people flew out of their seats & bumped heads on ceiling, a flight attendant needed medical attention.' Dore said the pilot later told passengers that an aircraft collision warning had been triggered in the cockpit. Video shared by Dore's producer, Stef Zamorano, showed shaken passengers moments after the ordeal. 'Just a few minutes ago we ended up having crazy turbulence on this flight,' Zamorano said in the clip. 'Turns out that turbulence was the pilot taking an aggressive move because there was another plane coming at us. That's what it was. It was collision avoidance,' Dore added. He said several passengers were violently flung upwards as the aircraft dropped. 'We were all shaken up,' Zamorano wrote. 'The flight erupted with applause once we landed.' 'The screaming, it was terrifying. We really thought we were plummeting to a plane crash,' Burdi said. 'It was absolutely terrifying. I just remember him saying, "What just happened was we almost collided with another plane, and I had to make the emergency attempt to go under because we lost service with the air traffic controller."' Another passenger, Steve Ulasewicz, told NBC LA the dip occurred about eight minutes into the flight and lasted for 8 to 10 seconds. 'Felt a significant drop. The plane was just in a freefall. It was pandemonium,' he said. 'The drop occurred about a minute after the crew announced the beverage service was about to begin.' Other passengers also shared their shock online. 'Our pilot had to make the most insane dive ever to avoid the other aircraft,' one person wrote on Reddit. 'So many of us flew out of our seats for about 20 seconds, even with seatbelts on, and one of the flight attendants got hurt and needed medical attention after we landed.' Passengers said one flight attendant was dazed after hitting her head, while another said he was quitting. Hollywood Burbank Airport said authorities are 'looking into the incident, however, there is currently no evidence that it occurred within the airspace above our airport.' An FAA spokesperson told that 'Southwest Airlines Flight 1496 responded to an onboard alert that another aircraft was in the vicinity while in Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center airspace. The FAA is investigating the event that occurred around 11am local time on Friday, July 25.' Sources familiar with aircraft warning systems say a TCAS alert likely triggered the evasive action. When such a system detects another aircraft converging on a dangerous path, pilots are instructed to immediately alter altitude or direction—usually within seconds. Preliminary data shows the planes were several miles apart when alerts were triggered. This close call is just the latest to raise concerns about aviation safety following January's midair collision over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. It also comes days after a similar scare on a Delta flight that narrowly avoided a B-52 bomber. 'For those of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the airplane kind of sort of coming at us,' the Delta pilot said. 'Nobody told us about it… Sorry about the aggressive maneuver. It caught me by surprise. This is not normal at all.' While mid-air collisions are exceedingly rare, experts say 'near misses' are rising due to outdated radar coverage, traffic volume, and strain on air traffic control systems.
BreakingNews.ie
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Southwest Airlines flight takes dramatic plunge in response to nearby aircraft
A Southwest Airlines jet heading to Las Vegas from Southern California took a dramatic plunge shortly after take off in response to an alert about a nearby plane, sending some passengers flying out of their seats and injuring two flight attendants. The plane suddenly jolted shortly after takeover on Friday then felt like it was falling, said Stef Zamorano, who was flying to Las Vegas with her husband to celebrate his birthday. Advertisement In front of her, Ms Zamorano said she saw a woman who was 'not wearing her seatbelt shoot up and out of her seat'. The man seated next to her was clutching her arm, and she said the woman across the aisle was panicking. 'She was pretty much verbalising how we all felt, saying, 'I want to get off this plane. I want to be on the ground,'' Ms Zamorano told The Associated Press. Data from the flight tracking site FlightAware shows it dropped roughly 300 feet (91.44 metres) in 36 seconds. Advertisement The Federal Aviation Administration said the flight, Southwest 1496, was responding to an onboard alert about another aircraft in its vicinity. The FAA is investigating. Southwest said the crew responded to two alerts that required the pilot to climb then descend. The flight departed from Hollywood Burbank Airport just before noon. Advertisement Still in shock, Ms Zamorano said she could hardly make out what the pilot was saying when he later addressed the passengers. Another passenger, American comedian Jimmy Dore, posted on X that the pilot mentioned a near miss. 'Pilot said his collision warning went off & he needed to avoid plane coming at us,' Dore posted. 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. Advertisement Records show it is owned by Hawker Hunter Aviation, a British defence contracting company. The company did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Mike Christensen, an airport spokesman for Hollywood Burbank, said that neither the control tower nor 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. Advertisement The close call is the latest incident to raise questions about aviation safety in the wake of January's mid-air collision over Washington DC, that killed 67 people.
