Gary Hershorn/Corbis News/Getty Images/File
Southwest Airlines airplanes, seen here being serviced at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, have been involved in several low-altitude incidents in 2024.
CNN
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A Southwest Airlines flight on approach to Tampa, Florida, flew as low as 150 feet from the ground while it was still nearly five miles from the airport, flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows.
The flight from Columbus, Ohio, to Tampa last week ended up bypassing Tampa International Airport and landing in Fort Lauderdale. It’s the third reported case of a Southwest flight flying at what appears to be a dangerously low altitude this year.
“Southwest Flight 425 safely diverted to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 14 after the Crew discontinued their planned approach into Tampa International Airport. The aircraft returned to Tampa after a short time on the ground in Fort Lauderdale,” Southwest said in a statement.
The Federal Aviation Administration says it is investigating the incident.
“Southwest is following its robust Safety Management System and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities,” Southwest’s statement said. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”
Flightradar24 says the previous three flights into Tampa flew at an altitude of 1,225 feet at the same point in their descent, a sign of how far off Flight 425 was from where it likely should have been. The weather at the time was poor, with thunderstorms in the area.
The incident follows two other low altitude incidents involving Southwest flights this year.
On June 19, Southwest flight 4069 descended to just 525 feet above the ground nine miles from its approach to Oklahoma City. On April 11, Southwest flight 2786 flew just 400 feet above the ocean off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. At one point, that flight was descending at 4,000 feet per minute before climbing.
