Southwest Airlines Boeing plane has 'near catastrophe' after flying dangerously low just 150ft above water while still four miles from the Tampa airport runway
Passengers on board a Southwest Airlines plane bound for Tampa were seconds from catastrophe when it descended to just 150 feet above sea level despite being a full four miles from the runway.
The incident occurred July 14 and involved a one-year-old Boeing 737 MAX 8 which left Columbus, Ohio, around 4 pm and was due to land in Florida at 6:10. The flight was delayed slightly while in the air due to some adverse weather.
The approach in Tampa was not clear either, with rain and strong winds reported. The plane was rerouted to a runway that it not typically used by commercial airlines at Tampa international but was being utilized because of the weather.
As the jet cruised over Tampa Bay, it was at one point just 150 feet above the water. That altitude is just a little bit more than the entire wingspan of the 737 MAX 8.
By comparison, the flight in front of this Southwest plane was also a 737 MAX 8 and was maintaining an altitude of 1,300 feet.
The plane could have crashed into the Courtney Campbell Causeway had it not been for a quick thinking air traffic controller who alerted the pilots telling them: 'Check your altitude.'
The flight still had four miles left to go before it was at the runway but descended to a terrifying 150 feet
Audio from the incident sees the pilot remain calm as their issued a low altitude alert. The pair then increased altitude again to 1,600 feet.
Due to the weather, the flight was rerouted to Fort Lauderdale, 200 miles away, where it landed safely around 7:45pm local time.
One retired pilot told Fox Tampa Bay that it's 'hard to believe' the pilots could have allowed the plane to go so low with so many instruments on board to warn for situations like this.
'It comes down to the pilots. On any approach, especially in bad weather, which they were encountering at the time, it's imperative that they work together as a crew,' Kent Davis told the station.
'They either started their descent at the wrong point and descended thinking that they were on the proper descent rate to the runway, or something may have malfunctioned.'
'Southwest Flight 425 safely diverted to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 14 after the crew discontinued their planned approach into Tampa International Airport,' the airline said in a statement.
The July 14 flight followed a similar incident last month in Oklahoma City in which a Southwest jet flew at an unusually low altitude while still miles from the airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that it is investigating the incident.
Southwest Airlines has gone through a series of near-disasters in recent months
Dallas-based Southwest said it is in contact with the FAA 'to understand and address any irregularities. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.'
An air traffic controller reached out to that crew after getting an automated warning in the control tower. The plane circled the airport – a 'go-around' – before making an uneventful landing.
In April, a Southwest flight went into a dive off the coast of Hawaii and came within 400 feet of the ocean before the plane began to climb.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating a Southwest jet that did an unusual 'Dutch roll' and was discovered to have damage to its tail after a flight from Phoenix to Oakland, California. Investigators say the plane had been parked outside during a severe storm.
