A low-flying Boeing plane that departed from Las Vegas, Nev., alarmed Oklahoma residents this week and prompted an investigation from the Federal Aviation Administration.
“After an automated warning sounded, an air traffic controller alerted the crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 4069 that the aircraft had descended to a low altitude nine miles away from Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City,” said the FAA in a statement. It said the incident occurred at around 12:05 a.m. local time Wednesday.
“Southwest 4069, low altitude alert. You good out there?” the air traffic controller asked just after midnight Wednesday, as heard in an audio archive of transmissions provided by LiveATC.net.
According to The Oklahoman, publicly available transponder data showed that the Boeing 737-800 plane was flying at just 500 feet as it passed over Yukon High School. Per the FAA Guide to Low-Flying Aircraft, “over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open-air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft,” is required.
That guide said that an altitude of 500 feet is acceptable when not over congested areas, including over open water. Still, “the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.”
People in the Yukon, Okla., area also took to Facebook with their concerns about the plane, said The Oklahoman. One person said they were afraid the aircraft would hit their home.
“The aircraft quickly regained altitude and circled for a safe landing at another runway. When reached Thursday, ATC personnel at the airport confirmed the alert and missed approach but said there were no issues with the aircraft,” The Okahoman reported.
A Southwest spokesperson cited by the outlet said: “Southwest is following its robust Safety Management System and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities with the aircraft’s approach to the airport. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”
Boeing, the manufacturer of the aircraft, has been in hot water recently, especially since a plug door came off an Alaska Airlines flight in January. This week, Audacy reported that Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said during a meeting on Capitol Hill that he was no longer planning on stepping down at the end of this year due to issues that continue to impact the company.
“While speaking before the lawmakers and the families of victims of two 737 Max disasters from 2018 and 2019, Calhoun took on responsibility for installing a system that killed 364 people,” Audacy reported. More reports about issues with Boeing planes continue to come in, including one from earlier this month about a Southwest Airlines plane that rolled at 32,000 feet and left the jet with significant damage.