CHICAGO (AP) — Pilots on a Southwest Airlines flight attempting to land at Chicago’s Midway Airport were forced to make the plane climb suddenly to avoid another aircraft crossing the runway.
Airport webcam video posted to X shows the Southwest plane appear to briefly touch down about 8:50 a.m. CST Tuesday before its nose was abruptly pulled up as the second plane is seen on the runway.
Southwest Flight 2504 safely landed “after the crew performed a precautionary go-around to avoid a possible conflict with another aircraft that entered the runway,” an airline spokesperson said in an email. “The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident.”
INCIDENT: Southwest #WN2504 (Boeing 737-800 N8517F) in near miss 1448UTC/0848CST today @ Chicago/Midway as FlexJet #LXJ560 (Challenger 350) crosses Runway 31C.
ATC Audio (skip to 18min): https://t.co/e6OValtv39
MDW webcam & links: https://t.co/GzjpoMXwhL
(c) webcam host pic.twitter.com/IHqoie0rt3
— Airport Webcams (@AirportWebcams) February 25, 2025
In radio communications with air traffic control, a pilot on the Southwest flight can be heard asking “how’d that happen?”
The second plane, described as a business jet, entered the runway without authorization, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA said in a statement that it is investigating the incident.
The Southwest Flight was en route to Midway Airport from Omaha, Nebraska, according to FlightAware.
