Close Call at Chicago’s Midway Airport Sparks FAA and NTSB Investigation
A tense situation unfolded at Chicago’s Midway Airport when a Southwest Airlines 737 narrowly avoided colliding with a private business jet. This incident has prompted an investigation by both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), highlighting ongoing concerns about air traffic safety.
A screenshot from the StreamTime Live account on Youtube of the near-collision between a Southwest 737 plane and a private business jet at Chicago’s Midway Airport. The 737 flight was arriving from Omaha when the business jet mistakenly crossed the runway.
StreamTime Live/Screenshot by NPR
According to authorities, the incident occurred on Monday when Southwest flight 2504, arriving from Omaha, Nebraska, was on final approach to land on runway 31-Center. The business jet, a Canadair Challenger 350, inadvertently taxied across the runway just as the 737 was about to touch down.
The quick-thinking Southwest crew executed a go-around maneuver, flying over the business jet, which was preparing to depart for Knoxville, Tennessee. In response to the situation, one of the Southwest pilots asked air traffic control, “How’d that happen?”
Southwest Airlines issued a statement emphasizing their commitment to safety, stating, “The Crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed [at Midway] without incident. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”
Footage of the harrowing moment, captured by StreamTime Live, was timestamped at 8:48 a.m. CT. The video has been widely circulated, drawing attention to the incident.
Communication between the air traffic controller and the business jet, operating as Flexjet 560, was recorded by LiveATC.net. The ground controller instructed the pilot to “hold short” of the runway, but the pilot misunderstood, believing he had clearance to cross.
After correcting the pilot’s misunderstanding, the ground controller reiterated the instruction to hold short of runway 31-Center. Despite this, the pilot proceeded to cross, necessitating the Southwest jet’s evasive action. The controller urgently communicated, “Flexjet 560 hold short!” followed by, “Flexjet 560, hold your position there! … Your instructions were to hold short of runway 31-Center.”
This incident adds to a series of recent aviation safety concerns, including a February crash involving a Delta Air Lines regional jet in Toronto and a January mid-air collision near Washington D.C. involving an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army helicopter. These events have intensified scrutiny on the U.S. air traffic system, particularly amid staffing challenges at the FAA under the Trump administration.
Newly appointed U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expressed his department’s commitment to addressing these issues, stating last week, “America deserves safe, state-of-the-art air travel, and President Trump has ordered that I deliver a new, world-class air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world.”
This article was originally written by www.npr.org
