The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States stated on Friday (June 21) that they are investigating an aviation incident involving Southwest Airlines that occurred after midnight on Wednesday. At that time, one of the airline’s planes descended to a dangerously low altitude near Oklahoma City.
According to a spokesperson from the FAA, at 12:05 a.m., the Minimum Safe Altitude Warning system automatically issued a warning, prompting air traffic controllers to inform the crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 4069 that they had descended to a low altitude about 9 miles from Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City.
Data from the aviation tracking platform Flightradar24 showed that the aircraft passed over a high school at an altitude of only about 625 feet, which was deemed very perilous. The plane even briefly descended to approximately 525 feet.
In a recording released on the website liveatc.net, an air traffic controller can be heard warning, “Southwest Airlines Flight 4069, low altitude alert. Are you guys okay there?”
The pilot’s response was unclear.
Tracking data indicated that after the descent was halted, the Boeing 737-800 aircraft briefly climbed before successfully landing at the airport in Oklahoma City.
In a statement issued on Thursday evening, Southwest Airlines mentioned that the company has been in communication with the FAA to understand and address any violations that occurred during the plane’s approach to the airport.
“For Southwest Airlines, nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and employees,” the company stated in the release.
Several months ago, Southwest Airlines experienced a similar incident when another flight from the airline plunged towards the ocean near the coast of Hawaii. The FAA mentioned that they are also conducting an investigation into that event.