A Southwest Airlines plane had a close call with a private jet Tuesday morning at Chicago Midway International Airport.
According to CNN, the Southwest flight crew had to do a “go-around” to avoid a potential incident.
WATCH:
ANOTHER NEAR MISS: Southwest Flight WN2504 had a near-miss incident at Chicago Midway today when FlexJet Flight LXJ560 crossed Runway 31C. pic.twitter.com/9Vt5qH5P4d
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 25, 2025
The Southwest aircraft landed safely at the airport.
WATCH:
JUST IN: A Southwest Airlines plane landed safely at Chicago Midway International Airport after a close call with a business jet that “entered the runway without authorization,” according to the FAA.
Read more: https://t.co/LUhaFSytg6 pic.twitter.com/JL7SfMEtgF
— ABC News (@ABC) February 25, 2025
Per CNN:
The close call comes as the two agencies are investigating a string of safety incidents in recent weeks, including the deadly midair collision over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, a Medevac jet crash in Philadelphia and a regional airline crash off the coast of Nome, Alaska, that killed 10 people.
In the Chicago incident, the Southwest plane was arriving from Omaha, Nebraska, and the private jet, a Bombardier Challenger 350, was headed to Knoxville, Tennessee, according to FlightRadar24.
Air traffic control instructed the private jet to turn left on “Runway 4L, cross Runway 31L and hold short of Runway 31C,” according to audio from LiveATC.net.
The pilot replies saying, “Alright, left on 2 – uh – 4L, cross the 22, or 13C, Flexjet 560.”
Then the air traffic controller on the ground immediately replies to the pilot, “Flexjet 560, negative! Cross 31L, hold short Runway 31C.”
Air traffic control audio from the tower also shows the moment the pilot of the Southwest plane chose to perform the go-around to avoid the private jet on the runway.
ADVERTISEMENTAir traffic controllers reply, “-west 2504, uh, roger that. Climb, maintain 3,000.”
Once the plane reached 3,000 feet in the air, the pilot asked the tower, “Southwest 2504, uh, how’d that happen?”
“Thanks to the Southwest Pilot, who saved the Day, avoided collision with Flexjet Challenger 350 Private Jet crossing live Runway at Chicago’s Midway Airport in shocking near-Miss incident,” FL360aero wrote.
“The pilot of the FlexJet was reminded to ‘hold short 31C’ clearance several times by ATC, including one ‘Flex 560 hold right there!’ He reads back incorrectly initially, ATC corrected,” it added.
Thanks to the Southwest Pilot, who saved the Day, avoided collision with Flexjet Challenger 350 Private Jet crossing live Runway at Chicago’s Midway Airport in shocking near-Miss incident.
The pilot of the FlexJet was reminded to ‘hold short 31C’ clearance several times by ATC,… pic.twitter.com/F5dVB0daWQ
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) February 25, 2025
From the New York Post:
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up. View the original article here.The passenger plane circled the airport, and then landed about 10 minutes later, data from FlightAware showed.
It had departed from Omaha, Nebraska, that morning, while the private plane left for Knoxville, Tennessee, a few minutes after the incident.
ADVERTISEMENTNobody was hurt in the close call, according to Southwest.
“The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident,” the airline told CNN.
“Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”
A spokesperson for the airport wildly claimed to Fox News it wasn’t a “near collision.”
The FAA is investigating the incident.
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!