A Southwest Airlines plane descended earlier than scheduled over Oklahoma City on Wednesday, startling residents several miles from the airport, but later regained altitude and landed safely.
According to an Associated Press report citing Flightradar24 data, Flight 4069, a Boeing 737-800 bound for Oklahoma City from Las Vegas, began its descent from 39,000 feet and reached an altitude of about 525 feet while still nine miles from the airport. The plane then climbed back up to about 3,000 feet and landed safely at its scheduled destination, Will Rogers World Airport, at 12:16 a.m. local time.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that an automatic warning was issued due to the low altitude and that air traffic controllers alerted the pilot.
“Southwest 4069, low altitude warning. Are you OK?” the controller can be heard saying in a LiveATC.net recording provided to The Oklahoman.
The FAA said it is investigating the incident.
The plane flew low over Yukon, a city west of Oklahoma City, and some local residents posted on social media that they were surprised by the noise and low flying of the jet.
“Southwest follows a robust safety management system and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to identify and address any irregularities with the aircraft's approach to the airport,” the airline said in a statement.
There is no evidence that the accident was caused by mechanical failure, but Boeing planes have had several safety incidents recently.
Most notably, a door panel blew off on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 jet in January, causing some planes to be temporarily grounded and leading the company to develop a plan to improve safety and for CEO Dave Calhoun to apologize.
