We heard a lot about airplane safety recently after the terrible accident in Washington DC that cost the lives of dozens of people. Now, anytime there is a near miss or accident involving a small plane, it seems to make the news.
There are times, however, when a near miss is a significant incident, and that happened recently with a Southwest Airlines jet. It was landing at Chicago Midway Airport and almost collided with a private plane.
It happened at around 8:50 AM local time on February 25. Southwest Flight 2504 was heading from Nebraska to Chicago Midway International Airport. There was also a private jet, Bombardier Challenger 350 that was in the process of taking off heading for Knoxville, Tennessee.
According to audio from the air traffic controllers, instructions were being given to the private jet but they ended up heading into the path of the Southwest Airlines flight that was landing. Fortunately, the Southwest pilot saw what was happening and was able to pull up and perform a go-around to stop the collision.
According to a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines: “The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees. At this time, the incident is being investigated.”
