Additional Coverage:
- Southwest flight drops to 150 feet over Florida water in third low-altitude incident (newsbreak.com)
July 22 (UPI) — Southwest Airlines is facing scrutiny yet again as one of its jets recently undertook a perilous descent, drawing alarmingly close—just 150 feet—to the ocean surface near Tampa, Florida. The aircraft managed to recover its altitude and was rerouted to Fort Lauderdale, flight data reveals.
The incident, which involved a Boeing 737 MAX 8 flying in from Columbus, Ohio, marks the third such occurrence involving Southwest planes in the last four months, prompting a Federal Aviation Administration investigation.
“Southwest Flight 425 was safely diverted to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 14 following an aborted landing attempt at Tampa International Airport. The aircraft briefly touched down in Fort Lauderdale before heading back to Tampa,” Southwest Airlines reported. The airline asserts its commitment to safety, engaging with the FAA to scrutinize and rectify the flight’s deviations from normal procedures.
Flight tracking data sourced from Flightradar24 indicated that the plane should have maintained an altitude of approximately 1,200 feet within 5 miles of its approach. However, compromised by adverse weather and thunderstorms, the aircraft drastically dropped in altitude, spurring an air traffic controller to urgently advise the pilot to adjust their course.
This latest Florida incident follows another close call last month when a Southwest jet descended precariously low upon approach to Oklahoma City, necessitating intervention from air traffic control there. Moreover, in April, another flight plummeted nearly 4,000 feet per minute towards the ocean off Kauai. The pilot managed a swift correction following an altitude alert, later attributed to an error by an inexperienced co-pilot.
These series of incidents underscore ongoing concerns over air safety as investigations continue.