Southwest Flight Issued Low Altitude Alert Over Oklahoma City

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed on Thursday that it is investigating Southwest flight 4069 (WN4069) from Las Vegas to Oklahoma City, which was issued a low altitude alert during its approach.

The news comes after the airline is already under scrutiny for multiple incidents this year, including descending just 400 feet above the ocean in April and a ‘Dutch Roll’ incident in May.

WN4069 descended to just 525 feet above the ground during the approach to the airport. The flight, operated by one of the airline’s Boeing 737-800 aircraft (N8555Z), was eventually issued a low-altitude alert by controllers about nine miles from the airport.

According to the FAA, the incident occurred just after midnight on Wednesday. An air traffic controller alerted the flight crew after an automated warning sounded in the tower. The flight regained altitude and ultimately landed safely in Oklahoma City.

NEWS – FAA confirms its controllers had to issue a low altitude alert to a Southwest Airlines flight as it was approaching Oklahoma City early Wednesday morning.

FlightRadar24 says flight 4069 descended to 525 feet above ground level about nine miles from the airport. pic.twitter.com/GLyN6j6HFF

— Pete Muntean (@petemuntean) June 20, 2024

A Southwest spokesperson confirmed that the airline was in contact with the FAA.

“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. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees,” a spokesperson for the airline told ABC News.

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Arya Karnik

Ever since he was a kid, Arya has been interested in aviation. With his entire family overseas, he has taken many family trips worldwide to places like the United Kingdom and India. He lives in Colorado but attends The University of Alabama, studying Computer Engineering with a minor in Computer Science. He hopes to obtain his PPL and eventually translate his engineering degree to working in operations at an airline.

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