A Boeing 737-800 Southwest Airlines Passenger Jet abruptly descended to an altitude of 525 feet over an Oklahoma City suburb, sparking discussions among locals and triggering an altitude alert.
Knewz.com has learned that the incident occurred over the city of Yukon, around nine miles away from Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City.
The Boeing passenger jet from Las Vegas was cleared to land just after midnight on Wednesday, June 19.
However, the flight descended to a low altitude of 525 feet above ground around nine miles to the Oklahoma airport, startling Yukon residents.
Air Traffic Control records, available on LiveATC.net, showed an air traffic controller checking in with the flight, asking, "Southwest 4069 low altitude alert... You good out there?"
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the warning and the abrupt descent in a statement to CNN, which read:
"After 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."
The Federal Aviation Administration is currently investigating the issue.
The descent soon stopped, and the aircraft gradually gained altitude, following which it maneuvered for a safe landing at Oklahoma City, per flight tracking data cited by CNN.
Air Traffic Control personnel at the Will Rogers World Airport confirmed to The Oklahoman on Thursday, June 20, that despite the abrupt descent, the aircraft had no issues.
However, the incident sparked discussions among Yukon locals on the Yukon Happenings Facebook group.
"It woke me up and I thought it was gonna hit my house," one of the members of the group wrote, per The Oklahoman. The outlet noted that the flight passed over the Yukon High School.
Southwest Airlines shared a statement about the incident that read (via The Oklahoman and CNN), "Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees."
"Southwest 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’s approach to the airport."
The incident on Wednesday was the second time in recent months that a Southwest Airlines aircraft underwent a dangerous descent. On April 11, another Southwest Airlines flight, a Boeing 737 Max 8, plunged toward the ocean off the coast of an island in Hawaii.
Before adjusting its altitude, the flight flew as low as 400 feet above the sea.
"The flight was an inter-island hop from the main Honolulu airport to Lihue airport on the neighboring island of Kauai. The internal memo [from Southwest Airlines] said the pilots decided to abort a landing there in bad weather," CNN wrote in a previous report, citing Bloomberg.
On May 25, yet another Southwest Airlines flight, also a Boeing 737 Max 8, underwent what Bloomberg described as a "Dutch roll," that could be linked to a damaged backup power control unit.
"The Boeing Co. 737 Max 8 aircraft landed safely and there were no injuries among the 181 people on the flight between Phoenix and Oakland, according to information from the Federal Aviation Administration," Bloomberg reported at the time.
"The plane experienced what is known as a “Dutch roll” before pilots regained control, the FAA said in a statement. Such movement involves tail “wagging” and rocking from side to side, and is named after the motion of a Dutch skating technique. The inspection after the flight revealed damage to a standby power unit."
