California flight drops 100s of feet to avoid collision

Burbank, California – A Southwest Airlines flight came dangerously close to catastrophe on Friday after the plane abruptly dropped hundreds of feet midair to avoid a potential collision with another aircraft. The harrowing event unfolded shortly after Flight 1496 departed Hollywood Burbank Airport just before noon, bound for Las Vegas.

According to flight tracking data, the Boeing 737 plunged rapidly—dropping hundreds of feet in just over 30 seconds—after the crew received two cockpit alerts about another aircraft in the vicinity. Passengers onboard described the moment as terrifying, with many convinced they were about to crash.

Caitlin Burdi, one of the passengers, said the initial dip was followed by a steeper, more alarming descent. “We really thought we were plummeting to a plane crash,” she told Fox News Digital. She added that the pilot later confirmed to passengers that the maneuver had been necessary to avoid another plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that Flight 1496 had responded to an onboard collision alert system. The agency is now investigating the incident. While the flight ultimately landed safely in Las Vegas, the experience left passengers shaken and raised new concerns about the current state of air traffic safety.

Another passenger, comedian Stef Zamorano, recalled the panic inside the cabin. A woman not wearing a seatbelt was launched from her seat. A man next to her clung to her arm. One passenger, in a visible state of distress, kept repeating that she wanted to get off the plane. “She was pretty much verbalizing how we all felt,” Zamorano told the Associated Press.

The flight was reportedly in close proximity to a Hawker Hunter Mk. 58 jet, a military aircraft owned by British defense contractor Hawker Hunter Aviation. The company has not commented on the incident. How and why the two aircraft ended up in such close airspace remains a central question in the FAA’s investigation.

Southwest Airlines issued a statement noting that the flight “landed uneventfully” and said it is cooperating fully with federal investigators. But the near-miss has renewed scrutiny of aviation safety systems, especially in light of January’s midair collision over Washington, D.C., which killed 67 people.

While passengers were physically unharmed, the emotional toll from the terrifying drop was real. It was the quick thinking of the pilot—and perhaps a degree of luck—that prevented a far worse outcome.