FAA investigating after Southwest 737 flies 500 feet above Oklahoma city

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Friday it is investigating an “incident” in which a Southwest Airlines flight “descended to a low altitude” near Oklahoma City Wednesday.

“After an automated warning sounded, an air traffic controller alerted the crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 4069 that the aircraft had descended to a low altitude nine miles away from Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City,” the FAA said in an emailed statement to The Hill about the incident.

According to local newspaper The Oklahoman, the flight seemed to go down as low as 500 feet when going over the city of Yukon, Okla., per transponder data. The plane involved in the incident was a Boeing 737-800, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

“Southwest is following its robust Safety Management System and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities with the aircraft’s approach to the airport,” a spokesperson for Southwest said in a statement to The Hill. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”

The drop by the Southwest flight on Wednesday follows another flight by the airline a few months ago that took a dive towards the ocean off the coast of Hawaii. The FAA is investigating that “incident” as well, it said in a prior statement to The Hill.