A Southwest Airlines plane abruptly dropped about 500 feet reportedly to avoid a mid-air collision with a British jet fighter.
Flight 1496 plummeted from 14,100 feet to 13,625 feet only six minutes after departing from Hollywood Burbank Airport in California on Friday, flightRadar24 shows.
Passenger Steve Ulasewicz said he ‘felt a significant drop’ that lasted eight to 10 seconds and that ‘the plane was just in a freefall’.
‘People were screaming,’ Ulasewicz told NBCLA.
‘It was pandemonium.’
He said the pilot announced that the plane used software to avoid getting into a mid-air collision.
A Hawker Hunter, N number N335AX, was flying at an altitude of about 14,653 feet when the Southwest airplane started to descend.
Planes are equipped with collision avoidance systems that guide them to go down or up as the other aircraft is expected to go the opposite direction.
The Southwest plane and the British jet fighter were several miles from each other when the pilots received the alerts to move positions, according to preliminary data.
Southwest stated that it was in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to ‘further understand the circumstances’.
‘No injuries were immediately reported by Customers, but two Flight Attendants are being treated for injuries,’ stated the airline.
‘We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew and Flight Attendants in responding to this event.
‘Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.’
Ulasewicz he saw an injured flight attendant receive attention from medical personnel immediately after the plane landed in Las Vegas, its intended destination.
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