Daijiworld Media Network - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, July 25: A Southwest Airlines flight departing from Southern California was forced to make a sudden descent shortly after takeoff to avoid a potential midair collision, leaving two flight attendants injured and passengers shaken.

The incident occurred Friday afternoon when Southwest Flight 1496 departed from Hollywood Burbank Airport en route to Las Vegas. Just minutes into the climb, the aircraft triggered two onboard traffic alerts, prompting the pilot to execute rapid altitude adjustments — first climbing, then descending — to avoid a collision.

Southwest Airlines confirmed the flight landed safely in Las Vegas and that no customer injuries were reported, although two flight attendants sustained injuries and are receiving medical attention.

“Southwest is engaged with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to better understand the circumstances,” the airline said in a statement.

According to flight data from Flightradar24 cited by KABC-TV, the Boeing 737 descended 475 feet — from 14,100 feet to 13,625 feet — approximately six minutes after takeoff. The other aircraft involved was identified as a Hawker Hunter, flying nearby at 14,653 feet, prompting the near-collision warning.

Passengers took to social media to share harrowing accounts of the incident.

Comedian Jimmy Dore, who was on board, described the moment in a post on X: “The pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid midair collision… plenty of people flew out of their seats and bumped heads on the ceiling. A flight attendant needed medical attention.”

Another passenger wrote, “People were screaming as the plane dove. A flight attendant is being looked at right now with an ice pack on her head,” calling it an incident that “almost cost the lives of 150+ people on board.”

The FAA has launched an official investigation into the incident to determine what led to the close encounter.

This comes just a week after another alarming event involving a passenger jet making an aggressive manoeuvre to avoid a US Air Force B-52 bomber over North Dakota, raising renewed concerns over airspace coordination and safety in American skies.

No passengers on Flight 1496 required hospitalization, but the psychological toll of the near-miss and sudden dive has sparked debate online about aviation safety protocols and real-time traffic alert responses.