Southwest Flight Out of Burbank Abruptly Descends to Avoid Mid-Air Collision
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A Southwest Airlines flight departing from Hollywood Burbank Airport was forced to make a rapid descent on Friday to avoid a potential mid-air collision with another aircraft.
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Southwest flight WN1496 had just taken off from Burbank in Los Angeles County and was climbing through 14,100 feet when it suddenly descended to 13,625 feet—a drop of approximately 475 feet—in just seconds. The incident occurred about six minutes into the flight, en route to Las Vegas.
Our data show that the other aircraft involved was a Hawker Hunter jet (registration N335AX), which was flying at around 14,653 feet when the Southwest flight made the sudden descent.
One passenger, Steve Ulasewicz, onboard, told ABC News that the experience felt like a “significant drop.” He reported that the pilot later informed passengers that the maneuver was necessary to “avoid a mid-air collision.”
Another passenger reached out to ABC7 Los Angeles, stating that the pilot mentioned a collision avoidance alert had triggered the emergency descent. According to reports, a flight attendant was injured during the abrupt maneuver and was met by medical personnel upon landing at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
