LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — FOX News reports that a midair collision was avoided shortly after a Southwest Airlines flight took off.
Flight 1496 from Burbank, California, to Las Vegas experienced a sudden nosedive on Friday afternoon to avoid a collision, the report said. FOX News spoke to a traveler on the flight who regularly takes the same trip. She told the outlet the flight experienced “extreme turbulence.”
“About 10 minutes into the flight, we plummeted pretty far, and I looked around, and everyone was like, ‘OK, that’s normal,’” said Caitlin Burdi. “Then, within two seconds, it felt like the ride Tower of Terror, where we fell 20 to 30 feet in the air. The screaming, it was terrifying. We really thought we were plummeting to a plane crash.”
Burdi recalled the pilot saying the flight had “almost collided with another plane,” the Fox News report said.
“It was absolutely terrifying,” Burdi told Fox News. “I just remember him saying, ‘What just happened was we almost collided with another plane, and I had to make the emergency attempt to go under because we lost service with the air traffic controller.’”
FOX5 obtained a statement from Southwest Airlines. Officials say the flight responded to two onboard traffic alerts while flying out of Burbank, “requiring them to climb and descend to comply with the alerts.”
An official from Southwest Airlines said the flight landed “uneventfully.” Officials say no injuries were immediately reported among passengers, but two flight attendants were treated for injuries. The airline did not immediately confirm their condition.
“Southwest is engaged with the Federal Aviation Administration to further understand the circumstances,” an airline representative said. “We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew and Flight Attendants in responding to this event. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”
According to Harry Reid International Airport, a medical team responded to the flight. Officials with the airport said one person on board was treated for injuries and was transported to the hospital.
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