A Southwest Airlines aircraft plunged to a dangerously low altitude over a residential area in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, sending shivers down the spines of residents. The incident, involving Southwest Airlines Flight 4069, took place on June 19, 2023, at around 12:05 am. The plane, which had departed from Las Vegas airport, flew less than 500 feet above houses near Yukon High School, triggering immediate altitude alarms and capturing the attention of air traffic controllers.
An air traffic controller issued a warning over the radio, “Southwest 4069, low altitude alert. You good out there?” The alarm had been triggered by an automated minimum safe altitude warning system. The unnerving incident was captured by a local resident who shared it on Facebook, stating, “I thought I was having cool dreams about airplanes the other night but actually had a 737 buzz my house.” Another resident recalled, “It woke me up and I thought it was gonna hit my house.”
Following the alarming event, the flight was cleared to land at Will Rogers World Airport after it regained the required altitude. However, this unsettling incident came on the heels of another alarming event involving a Southwest plane dropping to just 400 feet above the Pacific Ocean while en route to Hawaii in April.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched a probe into the recent Oklahoma incident. The agency is investigating the Southwest Airlines flight that descended to a low altitude 9 miles (14.5 km) from the Oklahoma City airport. In response to the investigation, Southwest Airlines has stated that they are following their safety management system and are in close contact with the FAA to “understand and address any irregularities with the aircraft’s approach to the airport.”
This incident adds to a string of recent concerns surrounding Southwest Airlines flights. In May, the FAA and the US National Transportation Safety Board were investigating a May 25 Southwest flight of a Boeing 737 MAX. The plane had experienced a “Dutch roll” at 34,000 feet while en route from Phoenix to Oakland, California. These incidents have raised serious concerns about the safety of Southwest Airlines flights and highlight the need for thorough investigations and effective measures to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.
