Southwest airliner narrowly avoids colliding with business jet at Chicago airport

A Southwest Airlines flight was forced to abort a landing at Chicago Midway airport on Tuesday and narrowly avoided a collision with a business jet that entered the runway without authorisation, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Around 8.50am, Southwest Flight 2504, a Boeing 737-800 arriving from Omaha, Nebraska, abruptly pulled up and flew over a FlexJet Challenger on the runway. The Southwest plane performed a go-around, a manoeuvre in which it circled and reapproached the landing.

A dramatic video posted on social media showed the Southwest jet nearing touchdown then ascending sharply. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

Southwest said the crew “followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident.” According to Southwest’s website, its Boeing 737-800 aircraft can carry 175 passengers.

The business jet, which Flexjet says can carry up to nine passengers, had been taxiing on runway 31C before departing for Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Southwest jet had descended to an altitude of 50 feet (about 15 metres) when it abandoned its landing only about 2,050 feet (625 metres) away from the business jet, according to tracking service Flightradar 24.