Quick and decisive action by the pilots in a Southwest Airlines 737 prevented another air tragedy today, this time at Chicago Midway Airport with a Flexjet Challenger 350.
Near-Miss At Chicago Midway Between Southwest Airlines 737-800 And Flexjet Challenger 350
Let’s look at what happened (thanks to several readers for flagging this Av Herald story):
- The incident occurred today, February 25, 2025
- A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 (registration code N8517F) traveling from Omaha (OMA) to Chicago Midway (MDW) as WN2504 was supposed to land on runway 31C
- A Flexjet Bombardier Challenger 350 (registration code N560FX), traveling from MDW to Knoxville (TYS), was slated to depart from runway 22L at Chicago Midway (MDW) and needed to cross runway 31C to get there
- Air traffic controllers instructed the Flexjet Challenger 35 to hold short of runway 31C
- Instead, the Flexjet pilots taxied across runway 31C without stopping
- That occurred as WN2504 was flaring to land
- Thankfully, the pilots were paying attention, noticed the Flexjet aircraft, and initiated a go-around
- Flight data (ADS-B) shows the Southwest 737 was only a few feet above the runway when it aborted landing and only about 1,600 feet away from the intersection with runway 4L where the Flexjet plane was taxiing
- 15 minutes later, WN2504 landed without incident
Here’s a look at video of the aborted landing:
You can listen to ATC audio here.
The picture above vividly illustrates what a close call this was.
What Were The Flexjet Pilots Thinking?!
I don’t think it’s “speculation” here, based on ATC audio, to wonder who is a fault. Clearly, the Flexjet pilots ignored instructions to hold short of runway 31C and proceeded anyway. How could they ignore explicit ATC instructions? How could they not even look out the window and see the Southwest aircraft landing?
Midway Airport is not an easy airport to navigate and its close proximity to residential neighborhoods makes it inherently more dangerous. But this was an easily preventable air. Thank goodness that the Southwest pilots were paying attention.
CONCLUSION
Another day, another near-miss, this time in Chicago. While of course there is so much heightened media scrutiny in the aftermath of the recent American Airlines and Delta Air Lines crashes, today’s near-miss was unacceptable: there should be no tolerance for such error, especially when this easily could have been a story in which 200+ people perished.
Kudos to the Southwest Airlines pilots.
2 Pilots in Commercial aviation, never 1.
Good job, Southwest Airlines pilots! (I have nothing against Southwest, I’m just a play on words)
SWA saved the day. Why did ATC fail to notice the incursion and warn SWA?
They were probably busy trying to figure out how to log into the email account they never use so they could respond to elons nonsense
That was to me the most significant near miss I’ve seen since the Air Canada flight at SFO some years back. Literally 1-2 seconds more and this would have ended badly.
Simple. Cross a runway threshold red light comes on in tower and on approaching/departing planes. Otherwise runway shows green. Same thing every almost every local county does to give you a traffic/red light ticket.
Oh wait….that might require someone to report what they’d done to improve airline safety in the past week. It might actually improve ATC and aviation safety.
But let’s get angry over the latter. That’s more fun. And we can bitch about who the other guy voted for.
That would have made no difference here. That sounds like govt waste implementing that.
As soon as the WN pilot saw that the plane wasn’t going to stop he initiated the go around. No sensors needed
S’cuse me- the former obviously.
Very close. I don’t know if the Southwest plane would have hit the Flexjet if the landing wasn’t aborted but it is wholly unacceptable. This is why we need Elon Musk involved in fixing the air traffic control system and ground control system. SpaceX catches reusable rockets with arms from the air. I trust SpaceX engineers, programmers, and experts to figure out a better way which can incorporate AI safety warnings to controllers. No to useless bureaucrats and ATC unions who are happy with the status quo.
The less money sent to Pakistan, Haiti, Ukraine, or South Africa on fake foreign aid through U.S. Aid which is laundered means more money to fix ATC.
How many rockets did space x blow up before they got one to get off the launch pad?
I’ll volunteer you for the first flight that uses AI ATC
Totally agree David. Airline bloggers defending the status quo or those who have proved themselves through innovation…
Someone needs to be charged with criminal negligence.