Southwest jet flew dangerously low to ground, FAA wants to know why

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it has launched an investigation into why a Southwest Airlines jet flew dangerously low near an Oklahoma neighborhood on Wednesday, June 19. As the plane dipped hundreds of feet above the ground, an air traffic controller at Will Rogers Airport became alerted by a low altitude “automated warning.” He then contacted the flight crew to notify them of the situation.

“Southwest 4069, low altitude alert,” the air traffic controller said. “You good out there?”

“Yeah, we’re going around, 4069,” one of the pilots replied.

The plane flew past an Oklahoma City suburb nine miles away from the airport, around 525 feet above the ground, before quickly regaining altitude and circling around for a safe landing.

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Officials with the airport told Fox Business that the jet missed its approach but there are no issues with the aircraft.

In response to the low altitude incident, Southwest Airlines released a statement on Thursday, June 20.

“Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees,” the statement read. “Southwest is following its robust safety management system and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities with the aircraft’s approach to the airport.”

This is the second incident in 2024 involving a Southwest jet narrowly avoiding the ground. In April, the crew of Southwest Flight 2786 called off its approach into Lihue Airport on the island of Kauai but then dropped to just 400 feet above the Pacific Ocean instead of ascending.