Passengers aboard a Southwest Airlines plane bound for Tampa teetered on the brink of disaster when the plane descended to an altitude of just 150 feet above sea level, despite being more than four miles from the runway.
The incident occurred on July 14 and involved a one-year-old Boeing 737 MAX 8 that departed Columbus, Ohio at approximately 4:00 p.m. and was scheduled to land in Florida at 6:10 a.m. The flight experienced a minor delay in flight due to bad weather.
The approach into Tampa was also unclear, with rain and high winds reported. The plane was diverted to a runway not normally used by commercial airlines at Tampa International, but was used due to the weather.
As the jet flew over Tampa Bay, it was at one point just 150 feet above the water. That height is just over the entire wingspan of the 737 MAX 8.
For comparison, the flight before this Southwest plane was also a 737 MAX 8 and maintained an altitude of 1,300 feet.
The plane could have crashed into the Courtney Campbell Causeway if a quick-acting air traffic controller had not alerted the pilots and told them, “Check your altitude.”
The plane had four miles to go before reaching the runway, but descended to a terrifying altitude of 150 feet
Audio of the incident shows the pilot remaining calm as they issue a low altitude warning. The pair then increased altitude again to 1,600 feet.
Due to weather conditions, the flight was diverted to Fort Lauderdale, 200 miles (320 kilometers) away, where it landed safely around 7:45 p.m. local time.
A retired pilot told Fox Tampa Bay that it is ‘hard to believe’ that the pilots would fly the plane so low, with so many instruments on board warning of situations like this.
“It comes down to the pilots. Any approach, especially in the bad weather that they were encountering at the time, it’s critical that they work together as a crew,” Kent Davis told the station.
“Either they started their descent at the wrong point and thought they had the correct descent rate to the runway, or something went wrong.”
“Southwest Flight 425 safely diverted to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 14 after the flight crew aborted its scheduled landing at Tampa International Airport,” the airline said in a statement.
The July 14 flight followed a similar incident last month in Oklahoma City, in which a Southwest jet was flying at an unusually low altitude while still miles from the airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it is investigating the incident.
Southwest Airlines has experienced a series of near disasters in recent months
Southwest, based in Dallas, said it is in contact with the FAA “to understand and address irregularities. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”
An air traffic controller contacted that crew after receiving an automated warning in the control tower. The plane circled the airport – a “go-around” – before making a smooth landing.
In April, a Southwest flight nosedived off the coast of Hawaii, coming within 400 feet of the ocean before the plane began to climb.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating a Southwest jet that performed an unusual “Dutch roll” and was discovered to have tail damage after a flight from Phoenix to Oakland, California. Investigators say the plane was parked outside during a severe storm.