The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a Southwest Airlines flight that dropped dangerously close to the water on approach to Tampa, Florida.
According to reports, the aircraft came within 150 feet of the water off the coast before regaining altitude and diverting to Fort Lauderdale.
“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 said in a statement, according to UPI.
“Southwest is following its robust Safety Management System and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees,” the statement added.
A Southwest Airlines flight descended hundreds of feet below where it should have been on approach to Tampa last week. This is now the third low altitude incident under investigation regarding Southwest. https://t.co/ASS7fTZxyJ pic.twitter.com/fNnqFnwG3d
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 22, 2024
Southwest Airlines 737 MAX descends dangerously low over the waters of Tampa Bay after descending to 150 feet 4 miles from landing at Tampa Airport. pic.twitter.com/qKifoP0gET
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) July 20, 2024
UPI reports:
According to flight tracking data from Flightradar24, the Southwest plane should have been closer to 1,200 feet altitude within 5 miles of the approach. An air traffic controller had to alert the pilot about the plane’s 150-foot altitude, which came during poor weather and thunderstorms, before corrective action was taken.
ADVERTISEMENT“Southwest 425 loss alert, check your altitude Tampa’s now altimeter 3014,” the air traffic controller radioed the pilot, before the plane quickly climbed to regain altitude.
This is the third low-altitude incident involving Southwest under investigation.
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 plunged to within 400 to 500 feet above Oklahoma residents just outside of Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City.
“Southwest Airlines 737-800 descends to 400 feet 9 miles from landing at Oklahoma City Will Rogers World Airport, triggering a low altitude alert from Air Traffic Control,” Breaking Aviation News & Videos wrote.
Southwest Airlines 737-800 descends to 400 feet 9 miles from landing at Oklahoma City Will Rogers World Airport, triggering a low altitude alert from Air Traffic Control. pic.twitter.com/o8le1d8cLh
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) June 20, 2024
According to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg, a Southwest Airlines commercial flight came within 400 feet of crashing into the ocean near Hawaii.
Weather conditions forced the pilots to bypass a landing attempt, the outlet said.
“The Boeing Co. 737 Max 8 jet briefly dropped at an abnormally high rate of more than 4,000 feet per minute before the flight crew pulled up to avoid disaster, according to a memo that Southwest distributed to pilots last week, which was seen by Bloomberg News,” Bloomberg stated.
“No one was injured on the flight, which safely returned to its departure airport in Honolulu,” the outlet added.
Southwest Boeing 737 Max Came Within 400 Feet From Crashing In Ocean Near Hawaii https://t.co/aWjwkocLr5
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 14, 2024
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