February 26, 2025

A Southwest Airlines plane and a private jet that entered the runway without authorization had a scary near-miss a close call at Chicago Midway International Airport yesterday morning. Via CNN:

Southwest Flight 2504 landed safely at the Chicago airport after the flight crew had to perform a go-around to prevent a potential incident, according to Southwest.

[...] In the Chicago incident, the Southwest plane was arriving from Omaha, Nebraska, and the private jet, a Bombardier Challenger 350, was headed to Knoxville, Tennessee, according to FlightRadar24.

Air traffic control instructed the private jet to turn left on “Runway 4L, cross Runway 31L and hold short of Runway 31C,” according to audio from LiveATC.net.

The pilot replies saying, “Alright, left on 2 – uh – 4L, cross the 22, or 13C, Flexjet 560.”

Then the air traffic controller on the ground immediately replies to the pilot, “Flexjet 560, negative! Cross 31L, hold short Runway 31C.”

Air traffic control audio from the tower also shows the moment the pilot of the Southwest plane chose to perform the go-around to avoid the private jet on the runway.

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