Key points
- Plane took off from Burbank, California, headed for Las Vegas
- No passengers immediately reported injured, airline says
- Incident comes one week after near-collision over North Dakota
ISLAMABAD: Two flight attendants on a Southwest Airlines flight departing Burbank, California, were injured on Friday after pilots took evasive action to dodge another aircraft on takeoff, the airline said.
According to Reuters, Southwest Flight 1496 sharply descended nearly 500 feet, according to flight tracking websites, marking the second time in a week that a US commercial jet was forced to make abrupt flight manoeuvres to avoid a potential mid-air collision.
American stand-up comedian Jimmy Dore said in an X post that he and “plenty of people flew out of their seats & bumped heads on ceiling” as the flight “aggressively” dove midair.
Just now on SW Flight #1496 Burbank to Las Vegas.
Pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid midair collision over Burbank airport.
Myself & Plenty of people flew out of their seats & bumped heads on ceiling, a flight attendant needed medical attention.
Pilot said his collision…
— Jimmy Dore (@jimmy_dore) July 25, 2025
The pilot of Southwest Flight 1496 told passengers the maneuver was needed to avoid colliding with another plane.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was “investigating the incident.”
Southwestern Airlines said its crew “responded to two onboard traffic alerts Friday afternoon… requiring them to climb and descend to comply with the alerts.”
“The flight continued to Las Vegas, where it landed uneventfully,” the airline said, adding that it was “engaged” with the FAA.
FAA Statement
This information is preliminary and subject to change.Southwest Airlines Flight 1496 responded to an onboard alert that another aircraft was in the vicinity while in Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center airspace. The FAA is investigating the event that…
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) July 25, 2025
No customers were reported to be injured, but two flight attendants were “being treated for injuries,” according to the airline’s statement.
The flight was in the same airspace, near Burbank, as a Hawker Hunter Mk 58 fighter jet, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
US media reported the Hawker Hunter jet was privately owned.
The incident raises further questions about aviation safety in the United States, following a series of accidents and near-misses in recent months.
In January, a mid-air collision between a commercial aircraft approaching Ronald Reagan Airport near downtown Washington and a military helicopter killed 67 people.
In May, US President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans to overhaul its “antiquated” air traffic control system, which suffers from a shortage of controllers in FAA-managed towers.
The government has laid off hundreds of FAA employees as part of its plan to slash the federal workforce.
