26 July 2025 – 11:02 BST
A Southwest Airlines flight bound for Las Vegas took a dramatic mid-air dive shortly after takeoff from Southern California, narrowly avoiding a collision with a British fighter jet.
Flight 1496 had just departed Hollywood Burbank Airport when the aircraft’s collision alert system detected a nearby plane, prompting the pilot to make a rapid descent of 300 feet in just 36 seconds.
The sudden plunge threw unbuckled passengers from their seats and left two flight attendants injured.
Passenger Stef Zamorano, onboard to celebrate her husband’s birthday, described the terrifying moment. “It felt like we were falling,” she said. “A woman in front of me flew out of her seat. People were screaming. One woman across the aisle kept repeating, ‘I want to get off this plane.’”
Flight tracking data from FlightAware confirmed the 300ft drop, which happened within seconds of takeoff.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the aircraft’s emergency manoeuvre was triggered by an onboard alert related to another aircraft in close proximity—identified as a Hawker Hunter Mk. 58, a British fighter jet operated by Hawker Hunter Aviation, a UK-based defence contractor.
Southwest Airlines said the crew responded to two cockpit alerts, first climbing, then sharply descending. Despite the drama, the flight continued on to Las Vegas, where it landed without further incident.
Comedian Jimmy Dore, also on the flight, tweeted that the pilot later confirmed a near-miss. “Pilot said his collision warning went off & he needed to avoid a plane coming at us,” Dore posted.
Burbank Airport officials, however, said their control tower and flight operations had no record of the emergency dive occurring within their monitored airspace.
The FAA has launched an investigation into the incident. Hawker Hunter Aviation has not yet responded to requests for comment.
The scare adds to growing concerns about air safety following a string of recent incidents, including a fatal mid-air collision over Washington DC earlier this year that claimed 67 lives.
