Two flight attendants were injured when a Southwest Airlines plane abruptly descended after takeoff from Hollywood Burbank Airport in Southern California on Friday (July 25). The incident occurred after two collision safety alerts sounded in the cockpit, prompting the pilots to take evasive action, according to a statement from the airline.
The pilots of Southwest Airlines Flight 1496 made the maneuver shortly after takeoff when an onboard system detected another aircraft nearby. This triggered two alerts from the plane’s collision avoidance system, as reported by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The system is designed to help pilots prevent midair collisions by instructing them to either climb or descend. The specific details of the other aircraft involved were not immediately available.
Southwest Airlines confirmed that no passengers were injured during the incident. However, some passengers described on social media how they were jolted out of their seats when the plane changed course. A spokesman for Hollywood Burbank Airport stated there was no indication of a near miss in the airspace above the airport.
The FAA is investigating the incident, emphasizing that ensuring the safety of everyone in the national airspace system remains a top priority. According to FlightAware, an aircraft-tracking site, Flight 1496 briefly lost about 300 feet of altitude approximately five minutes into its 57-minute journey from Burbank to Las Vegas.
This event follows a similar incident on July 18, when a regional airline jet operating a code-share flight for Delta Air Lines made an “aggressive maneuver” to avoid a midair collision with a B-52 bomber over North Dakota. These episodes have raised concerns about the nation’s air traffic control system.
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