Video captures near-miss between Southwest Airlines plane, jet on runway at Chicago’s Midway Airport

CHICAGO — A near-miss has been confirmed between a Southwest Airlines plane and a jet on a runway at Chicago’s Midway International Airport.

The incident happened around 8:50 a.m. Tuesday and was captured on video by StreamTimeLive.

The video shows a Southwest plane arriving from Omaha, Nebraska attempting to land on the runway before abruptly aborting as a private jet, a Bombardier Challenger 350, intercepts its path.

WGN News has learned that the Southwest plane landed safely after performing a go-around, just before 9 a.m. 

Both the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating.

Tuesday’s near-miss follows a string of recent aviation incidents, including a deadly midair collision over the Potomac River, the Philadelphia Medevac (short for medical evacuation) crash, a fatal aircraft collision near the Marana Regional Airport in Arizona, and another ariel incident in Alaska earlier this month, which killed 10 people. 

Joe Sweeter, a transportation professor at DePaul University, says an investigation into what happened and modernization at the federal level is needed, as well as additional reassurances for passengers who seek to fly. 

“I think the FAA does sort of need a mandate of modernization. They’ve been doing some great work to move that. But everybody wants that’s sped up. Unfortunately, what’s going to happen now is an element of chaos and distrust with things coming out of the executive branch,” Sweeter said. “Everybody is talking about this. It’s now a household item. We’re seeing it on the news week after week, and that doesn’t help the airlines. That person on the fence, so to speak, may hold back on flying. Airlines are a little nervous about busy, domestic travel right now. So, let’s hope things settle down a bit.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released the following statement regarding the incident:

The crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 2504 initiated a go-around when a business jet entered the runway without authorization at Chicago Midway Airport. The FAA is investigating the incident, which occurred around 8:50 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Feb. 25.”
FAA

Air traffic control audio captures moments before and after the incident, in which Southwest Flight 2504 can be heard asking, “How’d that happen?”

Southwest also released the following statement regarding the incident:

Southwest Airlines Flight 2504 landed safely at Chicago Midway Airport on Tuesday morning after the Crew performed a precautionary go-around to avoid a possible conflict with another aircraft that entered the runway. The Crew followed safety procedures, and the flight landed without incident. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”
Southwest

WGN News also reached out to Flexjet, the company behind operation of the private aircraft, for comment regarding the incident:

We are aware of the occurrence today in Chicago. Flexjet adheres to the highest safety standards and we are conducting a thorough investigation. Any action to rectify and ensure the highest safety standards will be taken.” 
Flexjet

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy took to social media Tuesday afternoon, saying that “it is imperative that pilots follow the instructions of air traffic controllers.”

“If they do not, their licenses will be pulled,” Duffy added.

No injuries were reported.