Boeing 737 in US abruptly avoids mid-air collision — crew hurt

On the morning of July 25, the pilots of a Southwest Airlines flight travelling from Burbank, California, to Las Vegas were forced to make what passengers described as the “most insane dive ever” to avoid a potential mid-air collision with another aircraft.

The incident, which occurred shortly after takeoff, resulted in two flight attendants sustaining head injuries after being thrown into the cabin ceiling during the abrupt emergency manoeuvre. Multiple passengers later posted on social media describing the terrifying experience, Caliber.Az reports, referring to foreign media.

According to a statement from Southwest Airlines, the flight crew was responding to two separate collision avoidance alerts issued in the cockpit. These warnings required an immediate and rapid descent to evade nearby air traffic in the vicinity of Burbank Airport.

The flight in question, Southwest Airlines WN-1496, was being operated by a 19-year-old Boeing 737 aircraft. It departed Burbank (BURK) Airport at approximately 11:57 a.m. on July 25, en route to Las Vegas for what was scheduled to be a routine 40-minute flight.

However, about six minutes into the flight and while still ascending to its cruising altitude, the pilots received an urgent traffic collision warning. The alert indicated that another aircraft — later identified as a Hawker Hunter jet — was dangerously close and crossing in front of the Southwest plane.

Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 revealed that at the closest point, the two aircraft were just 4.86 miles apart laterally and separated by only 350 feet vertically.

Both planes were operating in airspace controlled by the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Centre at the time of the near-miss. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is now investigating the incident, including whether any lapse by air traffic controllers contributed to the dangerous proximity.

The alert system referenced by Southwest is known as TCAS — Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System—an onboard safety feature also called ACAS (Airborne Collision Avoidance System) in some regions. Aviation experts often refer to TCAS as the “last defence against mid-air collisions.”

This system works independently of ground-based air traffic control. When it detects a collision threat, it emits an audible warning in the cockpit and provides immediate resolution instructions, such as directing the pilots to climb or descend.

Most commercial aircraft in the United States with over 30 passenger seats are required to be equipped with TCAS II, the most advanced version of the system, offering both traffic and resolution advisories.

This incident follows a similar episode in September 2024 when two passengers were injured on a United Airlines flight from Newark to San Francisco after a TCAS alert prompted an evasive manoeuvre. In that case, the Boeing 757 was cruising at 38,000 feet over Wyoming when the alert was triggered, and one of the injured passengers had been out of their seat during the manoeuvre.

By Tamilla Hasanova