A Southwest Airlines passenger has shared footage of a flight where the plane landed terrifyingly close to the ocean.
Nancy Allen was aboard the airline’s Boeing 737 MAX 8 flying from Columbus, Ohio, to Tampa, Florida earlier this month.
While the plane was still four miles from landing in Tampa, Flight 425 crashed just 175 feet above the ground.
An air traffic controller had to warn the crew about the low altitude, after which the plane had to divert to Fort Lauderdale, about 200 miles away.
Allen sent her husband panicked text messages on board after panic broke out on the plane.
Allen, seen here, was sending her husband panicked text messages on board after panic broke out on the plane
A FlightAware altitude graph shows how close the plane came to hitting the ground — its penultimate dive — before it plummeted
Speaking to WFLA, she told the news agency: ‘I I was afraid we were going to fly into a storm in Tampa, so I opened my window.
“I was watching as we approached. We were flying around MacDill Air Force Base. I know you can’t fly over MacDill Air Force Base, it was just a unique approach.”
Cell phone footage of the flight shows the plane taking off after landing in Tampa and then being diverted to Fort Lauderdale.
Allen said she knew at that moment something was wrong, adding: “I felt a slight panic.
“At that point I panicked and started texting my husband saying, ‘This is questionable.’ I kept texting him, ‘Abortion, abortion.’
Now that the plane has finally landed safely, Allen still wonders what exactly happened on board.
She added: “That was the worst flight I’ve been on in a long time.”
The nature of the incident is currently under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
While it was still four miles from landing in Tampa, flight data showed the plane had sunk to just under 200 feet above the ground
A number of grounded Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are parked at Victorville Airport in California, March 2019.
A statement from the airline said: “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 plane returned to Tampa after a brief time on the ground in Fort Lauderdale. Southwest is following its robust Safety Management System and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address irregularities with the plane’s final approach.
“Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”
This incident follows a similar incident late last month, when a Boeing 737 operated by the airline was flying at less than 500 feet over Oklahoma.
The plane was 14 kilometers from Will Rogers World Airport when it dived to an altitude of 120 to 150 meters and flew over a high school in Yukon Town.
Doorbell camera footage showed the Boeing 737 MAX-8 hovering over houses before disappearing from view.
A resident was startled awake by the plane’s engine and wondered if the plane was prepared for a collision.
The Boeing 737 MAX has been plagued by allegations that Boeing cut costs. The plane was blamed for two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.
There is no indication yet whether this week’s tragedy in Tampa was caused by the plane or by pilot error.