A Southwest Airlines-operated Boeing 737 initiated a go-around at Chicago Midway International airport to avoid colliding with a business jet that had entered the runway without authorisation from air traffic control (ATC).
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the near-miss occurred around 08:50 Chicago time on 25 February, adding that it is investigating the incident.
The US National Transportation Safety Board has launched a separate inquiry.
Video circulating on social media purportedly shows the 737-800, inbound from Omaha, nearing the runway at Chicago Midway but aborting its landing as a Flexjet Bombardier Challenger 350 crosses the runway.
Asked to comment on the incident, Southwest says that flight 2504 ”landed safely” after the flight crew performed ”a precautionary go-around to avoid a possible conflict with another aircraft that entered the runway”.
”The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident,” Southwest says.
The Flexjet-operated Challenger 350 had recently arrived from Aspen and later completed a flight from Chicago to Knoxville, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
Near-misses and ATC staffing issues have been grabbing headlines in recent weeks, with the deadly collision of a PSA Airlines regional jet and US Army helicopter in Washington, DC – and the fiery crash of a Endeavor Air regional jet at Toronto Pearson International airport – leaving airlines and the North American flying public shaken.
