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A PASSENGER on board the Southwest flight that plummeted mid-air to avoid a second plane has revealed the moment screams filled the cabin.
Flight 1496 from Hollywood Burbank Airport, California, was forced “nose dive” while on its way to Las Vegas, causing passengers to fly out of their seats.
The aircraft later landed safely but two flight attendants were injured in the terrifying moment.
Caitlin Burdi, who was onboard, spoke to Fox News about how screams filled the cabin moments after take off around 11 am.
“It was terrifying. We really thought we were plummeting to a plane crash,” she said.
Burdi, who is a seasoned traveler and knows the route well, initially thought they were experiencing bad turbulence.
“We plummeted pretty far and I looked around and everyone was like, ‘okay, that’s normal,’ and within two seconds it felt like the ride Tower of Terror where we fell like 20 to 30ft in the air and the screaming – it was terrifying.”
“I just remember [the pilot] saying, ‘What just happened was we almost collided with another plane, and I had to make the emergency attempt to go under because we lost service with the air traffic controller,'” she added.
“Thank you to our pilot,” she said, noting how passengers were left shaken and in shock after the ordeal.
In a statement, Southwest Airlines said that the crew “responded to two onboard traffic alerts…requiring them to climb and descend to comply with the alerts.”
The airline confirmed that the two injured flight attendants are being treated for their injuries and no customers were hurt.
Comedian Jimmy Dore who was also onboard wrote on X how the pilot had to “dive aggressively to avoid midair collision over Burbank airport.”
He described how “people flew out of their seats and bumped heads on ceiling”.
Data from FlightRader24 shows the incident happened six minutes after take off and that the aircraft descended 475ft from 14,100ft to 13,625ft
It notes that at their closest point, the two planes were just 4.86 miles apart.
An investigation is being carried out between the airline and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Definitely felt like that was it. Like this is how I’m going to go out.
Steve Ulasewicz
The FAA said in a statement that the aircraft “responded to an onboard alert that another aircraft was in the vicinity while in Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center airspace.”
According to a source familiar with the situation, the second plane was a Hawker Hunter MK 58 single-seat fighter jet, NBC News has reported.
The fighter jet is registered to a company, per FAA records seen by the outlet.
Passenger Steve Ulasewicz told ABC News affiliate KABC-TV that he’d “never experienced that.”
“Everybody in the plane started screaming. Definitely felt like that was it. Like this is how I’m going to go out.”
The incident comes less than a week after another mid-air near-miss.
A Delta Airlines pilot was forced to make a similar “aggressive maneuver” to avoid a B-52 bomber while on its way from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Minot International Airport in North Dakota on Monday.
Chilling audio captured the moment the “shaken” pilot apologised to passengers.
Southwest Airlines Full Statement
“The Crew of Southwest Flight 1496 responded to two onboard traffic alerts Friday afternoon while climbing out of Burbank, Cal., requiring them to climb and descend to comply with the alerts.
“The flight continued to Las Vegas, where it landed uneventfully.
“Southwest is engaged with the Federal Aviation Administration to further understand the circumstances.
“No injuries were immediately reported by Customers, but two Flight Attendants are being treated for injuries.
“We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew and Flight Attendants in responding to this event.
“Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”
