A Southwest Airlines pilot narrowly averted disaster this morning when their Boeing 737-800 (registration N8517F) was preparing to land at Chicago Midway airport. Flight 2504 from Omaha was in the gradual pitch-up just prior to touchdown when it initiated a go around as a business jet crossed the runway. The plane climbed out, and landed safely 15 minutes later.
Private jet causes Southwest to go around at Midway today. It crossed the runway while Southwest was landing.
byu/sq_lp inaviation
The Bombardier Challenger 35 was preparing for departure from runway 22L when it crossed runway 31C – despite being instructed to hold short of that runway. The Southwest crew saw this, reported they were going around, even before air traffic control instructed them to do so. The pilots of the Bombardier business jet were given a phone number to contact for pilot deviation.
Flight 2405 had been just a few feet above the runway and around 1,500 feet short of the intersection when it climbed out to avoid the private plane. Flexjet 600 can be heard having difficulty reading back instructions, and did not follow the admonition to ‘hold short’.
Here’s air traffic control for Southwest 2504. You’ll find the go around at the 18 minute 1 second mark. The matter-of-fact calmness of the pilot is amazing here.
The Southwest pilots did a fantastic job here in avoiding catastrophe. Air traffic control doesn’t appear to have erred. However, antiquated technology and a 1920s ATC approach set us up for these recurring incidents.
I’ve routinely flown in and out of airports around the third world (including several times a year into the old Tocontin Airport in Honduras, now that landing was always an adventure). I feel far more secure in those than just about any airport here.
Another day, another close call — scary stuff. Super job, Southwest pilots! I’ve flown that route before but I think at night.
What type of penalty did piolet of the private jet for not following instructions from the tower?
Great job by the SW pilot! Not sure how this can happen unless the private pilot was drunk?
Could someone articulate how better ATC technology could conceivably have prevented this? This seems like pure pilot error and (other) pilot correction avoidance.
Glad everyone’s alright. Phew!
So, was it ‘wokeness’ or ‘DEI’ this time?
(I know it was neither, but let’s see)
@1990, probably trans pilots operating that private jet.
The irony is that we now have a very rich civilian sending letters out to ATC controllers saying that he will fire them if they cannot justify their jobs by return email. The country is about 3,000 controllers short. This incident sounds like it is the biz jet’s mistake but with a full complement of ATC personnel, mistakes like this are more likely to be picked up anywhere. The President of the country is apparently authorizing the “rich civilian” to send these letters out. This after firing the head of the FAA by the “rich civilian.” Any person taking such action should be qualified in an ATC Tower or on the flight deck of aircraft, or kept far away from commercial aircraft operations.
@Michael — Knew it! “hE wAs RiGhT aBoUt EvErEtHiNg!”
@glenn pickard — But don’t you see, glenn–Elon’s a GeNiUs!
Community Notes for @glenn pickard: The FAA experienced Job Cuts of 320 personnel, out of a total number of 45,000 FAA employees meaning 0.7 % of the total. Importantly, no Air Traffic Controllers were let go.