One thing went significantly unsuitable this week when Southwest Airways Flight 4069 was en route from Las Vegas to Oklahoma Metropolis. Shortly after midnight, the aircraft was nearing its vacation spot when it started to descend extra shortly than it ought to have. It shortly descended to barely 500 toes above a residential neighborhood, setting off low-altitude alarms and scaring each passengers and native residents. Air site visitors management started contacting the pilots to go looking the tower. The pilots have been in a position to climb once more to the next altitude and ultimately landed safely, however they missed their first try on the runway. Now, a number of days later, the FAA nonetheless cannot clarify if something went unsuitable. Only for the file, the aircraft was one other Boeing 737. (NY Submit)
A Southwest Airways industrial aircraft inexplicably dived whereas touchdown in Oklahoma Metropolis, flying lower than 500 toes over a residential space — setting off altitude alarms and scaring residents.
The dangerously low flight of Southwest Airways Flight 4069 from Las Vegas was recorded by transponders and observed by air site visitors controllers.
Shortly after midnight, the Boeing 737-800 flew previous UConn Excessive Faculty after being cleared to land at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma Metropolis.
“Southwest 4069, low altitude alert,” an air site visitors controller warned. “Are you okay there?”
Some residents of the neighborhood, who have been buzzing, took to social media to report the horrifying incident. One man described how loud the aircraft’s engines have been and mentioned he was afraid it’d hit his home. A 737 shifting at full pace makes numerous noise, so if it solely passes inside 500 toes, it’s going to undoubtedly trigger hazard.
The query is, how did it occur? It doesn’t look like a case of hostile wind situations or turbulence. The airline is just not reporting any harm or mechanical failure which will have brought about the touchdown. On the prime of the linked article, you may take heed to a recording of the dialog between the cockpit and the air site visitors management tower. The tower tried to contact the flight twice earlier than getting a response, reporting a low altitude alarm and asking the pilots in the event that they have been OK. When the pilot responds, he sounds virtually informal and says that they plan to “go round once more.” He makes no point out of alarm or his low altitude. He negotiated with the tower as he climbed to 2,000 toes and was cleared to circle the airport as soon as earlier than making an attempt to land.
I am speculating right here, in fact, however did the flight crew go to sleep within the cockpit and lose situational consciousness? Might this be why the management tower needed to attempt to talk twice earlier than getting their response? They have been in a position to climb to 2,000 toes and degree off with out a downside, so it would not seem to have been some form of mechanical failure. It was a REDE flight and it was previous midnight by the point it arrived in Oklahoma Metropolis, so it is comprehensible if the crew was drained, nevertheless it was clearly a really harmful state of affairs. You should not fly if you happen to’re drained.
Additionally it is curious how the flight management tower operator didn’t say a lot after the preliminary investigation. If in case you have a Boeing 737-800 down 500 toes and never on and even near the runway, to not point out the alarm going off, that must be a big concern for the tower. But after asking, “Are you OK,” the controller instantly started giving altitude and method directions. Maybe that is one thing that may solely be mentioned within the post-flight debriefing, however I believed they might a minimum of need to ensure that the aircraft was working correctly earlier than touchdown.
I suppose we’ve got to chalk this incident up as another little bit of weirdness within the sky that fortunately did not trigger any accidents. It doesn’t look like responsible for the continued questions of safety with Boeing’s planes. However there must be a full investigation and interviews with the pilots to verify it would not occur once more. Subsequent time we might not be so fortunate.
