Passengers on a flight that fell less than 500 feet above the ground shared images of the sky, as many say they didn’t know they were flying so low.
Dramatic images shared by a traveler who claimed to be aboard the Southwest Airlines flight, which passed over Oklahoma, show a large thunderstorm in the sky on Wednesday.
The flight was nine miles from Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City when it fell between 400 and 500 feet as it passed over a school in Yukon.
Amber England claimed she was on board the flight when she saw the storm, before revealing she had no idea about the low altitude until she saw it on the news.
Similarly, Susan Gierhart claimed that she was on board and had not realized the low altitude until the woman in front of her expressed concern.
Dramatic images apparently shared by someone aboard the Southwest Airlines flight, which passed over Oklahoma, show a large thunderstorm in the sky on Wednesday.
The flight was nine miles from Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City when it plunged between 400 and 500 feet as it passed over a school in Yukon.
Sharing the images, Amber said: “On Brad and I’s flight home on Wednesday morning we saw a crazy storm.
‘If you ever wondered what a storm looks like in the clouds, you should see this, it’s cool.
‘Then I saw on News 9 that the flight we were on flew 500 feet off the ground over Yukon and we had no idea. A wild plane ride.
In a social media post, Gierhart said: ‘The lady in front of me (noticed). She was crazy. I didn’t realize at the time that she had a motive.
He went on to add that he “wondered why we kept going around.”
Doorbell camera footage also captured on Wednesday showed the Boeing 737 MAX-8 hovering over the houses, before flying out of frame.
The sudden descent caused air traffic control to call the pilot and check the status of the flight.
“Southwest 4069, low altitude alert,” the air traffic controller could be heard saying on a Audio file of the broadcast. “Are you okay out there?” she asked.
Susan Gierhart, left, and Amber England, right, say they were on board the flight when it dropped in altitude.
The sudden descent caused air control to call the pilot and check the status of the flight.
The pilot of the flight from Las Vegas confirmed that there was no problem with the plane and turned around, quickly regaining altitude from about 450 feet to more than 1,000 feet as it crossed Yukon High School.
It then landed safely at the airport on a different runway and Air Traffic Control personnel confirmed there were no issues with the Boeing 737 Max-8, according to The Oklahoman.
But the low approach, along with the late hour, caused concern among the city’s residents.
“I was like halfway between sleeping and being awake, and I heard that WHOOSH,” Spencer Basoco said. KFOR.
‘And at first I thought, like a storm was blowing… because it sounded like a wall of wind.
‘And I looked out the window where the sound was coming from… if you go a few blocks away there is the high school. And I just saw a plane. “I knew it wasn’t normal.”
Spencer Basco said he thought it was a storm that had hit the area and described it as a “wall of wind.”
Another resident claimed he was startled awake by the plane’s engine and wondered if the plane was prepared for a collision.
“It woke me up and I thought it was going to hit my house,” the resident wrote on the Yukon Happenings Facebook page. according to The Oklahoman.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident and Southwest has confirmed that they are working with them to address any “irregularities.”
Southwest officials said they are working with the Federal Aviation Administration to determine what caused the sudden descent.
In a statement, they said: “Southwest is following its robust Safety Management System and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities in the aircraft’s approach to the airport.”
“Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”
Boeing’s problems in 2024 began in January, when a door plug on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max exploded shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon.
The sudden drop comes as Boeing continues to make headlines for broken landing gears, doors that pop off mid-flight and faulty software systems.
Boeing’s problems in 2024 began in January, when a door plug on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max exploded shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon.
Current and former Boeing employees have accused the company of cutting corners on safety.
The Arlington, Virginia-based company is being investigated by the FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Department of Justice.
Earlier this month, a Boeing plane also experienced a rare Dutch roll: a combination of a yaw motion when the tail slides and the plane rolls from wingtip to wingtip.
The company’s repeated failure to fix the problems has generated skepticism on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers firing CEO Dave Calhoun for his role in the airline’s downfall.