Southwest Airlines flight descends dangerously low near Oklahoma City

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating an incident involving a Southwest Airlines flight that descended to an alarmingly low altitude while approaching Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City.

The incident occurred just after midnight on Wednesday, June 19, 2024.

Southwest Airlines Flight 4069, a Boeing 737-8H4 (registered N8555Z) flying from Las Vegas to Oklahoma City, descended to approximately 525 feet above ground level when it was still about 9 miles from the airport.

This sudden drop in altitude triggered an automated warning system and prompted air traffic control to issue a low altitude alert to the flight crew.

According to flight tracking data from FlightRadar24, the aircraft was over the city of Yukon, Oklahoma, when it reached its lowest point.

An air traffic controller can be heard in recordings obtained from LiveATC.net asking, “Southwest 4069, low altitude alert. You good out there?”

The Aviation Herald reports that the incident occurred at 12:06 AM local time, about 7.9 nautical miles before the runway threshold of runway 13.

After receiving the alert, the flight crew initiated a climb to 3,000 feet above mean sea level.

The approach controller subsequently cancelled the approach clearance and instructed the crew to go around.

Following the low-altitude event, the aircraft successfully maneuvered for a safe landing on runway 17R at Oklahoma City approximately 10 minutes later.

Southwest Airlines issued a statement saying, “Southwest is following its robust safety management system and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities with the aircraft’s approach to the airport.”

“Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees,” the airline added.

This incident marks the second recent close call involving a Southwest flight.

In April, Southwest Flight 2786 aborted its approach to Lihue Airport in Hawaii but descended to 400 feet above the Pacific Ocean instead of climbing.

The FAA’s investigation will aim to determine the cause of the premature descent and any potential safety implications.

As the investigation is ongoing, no further details about the cause of the incident have been released.