Passengers on the Southwest Airlines jet from Burbank to Las Vegas say the pilots had to dive “actively” to avoid an air collision with another plane shortly after takeoff Friday afternoon.
According to flight records, Southwest Flight 1496 departed Hollywood Burbank Airport at 11:58am. The airline later said crews responded to traffic alerts issued onboard, but did not confirm the reason for the sudden plunge.
“The crew of Southwest Flight 1496 responded to two onboard traffic alerts while climbing from Burbank, California on Friday afternoon, demanding that they climb and descend to comply with the alert,” Southwest Airlines said. “Southwest is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to further understand the situation. No injuries were reported immediately by customers, but two flight attendants are being treated for the injury. We are grateful for the professionalism of the flight attendants and flight attendants in responding to this event.”
Among the passengers was stand-up comedian Jimmy Door. He was told he and the others would hit their heads into the ceiling, writing that they “leapt out of their seat” while piloting the sudden.
FlightAware Show SW 1496 was soaked at about 300 feet elevation at 12:03 PM
“The pilot said his crash warning had gone and we needed to avoid the plane coming to us. Amazing,” the door wrote. “The flight attendants needed to see a doctor.”
Southwest Airlines said the flight followed in Las Vegas.
KTLA contacted the FAA for comment.
Dore’s executive producer Stef Zamorano posted a brief video to X, where she first described her as “crazy turbulence.”
Another X user named Steve U. said he was also a passenger on Southwest Flight #1496 and charged the plane thousands of feet above to avoid another plane. “People were screaming like plane doves. The flight attendants were watching with ice packs on their heads.”
Nidia Becerra, Luis Zuniga and Marc Sternfield contributed to this report.
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