The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a Southwest Airlines flight that descended to just 525 feet above ground as it approached Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, triggering an altitude warning from air traffic control that it was getting too low.
Southwest flight 4069 was about 9 miles from the airport, over Yukon, Oklahoma, when it descended to the low altitude just after midnight on Wednesday, flight tracking information from FlightRadar24 shows.
鈥淪outhwest 4069 low altitude alert,鈥� a controller is heard saying in an air traffic control recording by LiveATC.net. 鈥淵ou good out there?鈥�
The pilots鈥� response is not audible.
After the descent stopped, the Boeing 737-800 climbed briefly and then maneuvered for a successful landing at Oklahoma City, tracking data show.
The FAA, in a statement to CNN, said it was investigating the incident, adding: 鈥淎fter an automated warning sounded, an air traffic controller alerted the crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 4069 that the aircraft had descended to a low altitude nine miles away from Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City.鈥�
The airlines says it has been in touch with the FAA after the incident.
鈥淣othing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees,鈥� the airline said in a statement. 鈥淪outhwest is following its robust Safety Management System and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities with the aircraft鈥檚 approach to the airport.鈥�
This marks the second recent incident involving a Southwest flight narrowly missing the ground. In April, the crew of Southwest Flight 2786 aborted its approach into Lihue Airport on the island of Kauai but descended to 400 feet above the Pacific Ocean instead of climbing.
