Two flight attendants were injured after a commercial Southwest Airlines jet suddenly dropped 475 feet to avoid a “midair collision” shortly after takeoff at a Los Angeles-area airport Friday, with one frightened passenger saying the aircraft “was just in a freefall.”
Southwest Flight 1496 dove from 14,100 feet to 13,625 feet just six minutes after taking off from Hollywood Burbank Airport, according to FlightRadar24 data.
The pilot told concerned flyers that the drastic maneuver was carried out to avoid “a midair collision,” passenger Steve Ulasewicz told ABC News.
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“The plane was just in a free fall. It was pandemonium,” he told NBC 4 Los Angeles.
Passengers screamed as the plane dropped for what felt like 10 seconds, according to Ulasewicz.
Comedian Jimmy Dore was on the flight, relaying that he and several other flyers were tossed about the cabin during the startling descent.
“Pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid midair collision over Burbank airport,” he wrote on X after landing in Sin City.
“Myself & Plenty of people flew out of their seats & bumped heads on ceiling, a flight attendant needed medical attention,” the California-based funnyman, 60, said.
Dore’s manager was also on the plane and was floored by the near-catastrophe.
“We’re driving home,” Stef Zamoramo said in a video posted on X from the cabin.
Tracking data showed that the plane — moving at 450 mph — proceeded to climb 20 seconds after the initial and sharp decline.
Southwest said two flight attendants were injured during the desperate life-saving swerve, but no passengers were injured.
Another plane, a Hawker Hunter aircraft, was near the Southwest plane at approximately 14,633 feet, according to ABC News.
✈️ Close Call in the Skies Near Burbank
This Friday (25), a Southwest Airlines flight out of Hollywood Burbank Airport had to make a rapid descent of 475 feet to avoid another aircraft, according to flight tracking data and passengers onboard.
📉 At approximately 6 minutes… pic.twitter.com/iBGGTla3PY
— AirNav Radar (@AirNavRadar) July 25, 2025
The pilots of the Hawker Hunter reported having the Boeing 737 in sight, but were not properly instructed by air traffic control, ABC News reported, citing sources.
Multiple Hawker Hunters — a British-designed, fixed-wing military-style aircraft — were being operated in the area, according to the outlet.
Southwest said in a statement that its pilots were responding to two onboard traffic alerts and that the descent action was to “comply” with those warnings.
The pilot told passengers in an onboard update after the scare that the plane used software to make the evasive move, Ulasewicz told NBC.