Passengers on a Southwest Airlines jet described an unsettling drop Friday on a flight from Hollywood Burbank Airport to Las Vegas that injured two flight attendants.
Southwest Airlines flight No. 1496 departed just before noon from Burbank to Las Vegas. The plane went on to land safely in Las Vegas.
Social media posts from people on the plane described the aircraft as entering a “dive” a few minutes after takeoff from the San Fernando Valley airport for the short flight to Las Vegas.
Passenger Steve Ulasewicz told NBCLA that about eight minutes into the flight the plane took a sudden dip for about eight to 10 seconds. Passengers were screaming during the drop before the plane leveled out, he said.
Once the flight smoothed out, Ulasewicz, who was traveling to Las Vegas, said the pilot made an announcement indicating the plane used software to avoid a midair collision.
“Felt a significant drop,” Ulasewicz said. “The plane was just in a freefall. People were screaming. It was pandemonium.”
The jarring drop occurred about a minute after the crew announced beverage service was about to start, the Woodland Hills resident said. He said an injured flight attendant appeared to have an icepack on her head following the drop.
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A spokesperson for Hollywood Burbank Airport told NBCLA authorities are “looking into the incident, however, there is currently no evidence that it occurred within the airspace above our airport.”
Southwest Airlines said the crew responded to onboard air traffic alerts after departing from Burbank. Two flight attendants were treated for injuries, the airline said.
“The crew of Southwest Flight 1496 responded to two onboard traffic alerts Friday afternoon while climbing out of Burbank… requiring them to climb and descend to comply with the alerts,” Southwest Airlines said in a statement. “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.”
The FAA said it is aware of the midair incident.
“We are aware of an incident involving Southwest Airlines Flight 1496,” an FAA spokesperson said. “The FAA is in contact with Southwest Airlines and we are investigating. Ensuring the safety of everyone in the national airspace system remains our top priority.”