Southwest flight from Burbank drops hundreds of feet to avoid possible collision
A Southwest flight climbing away from Burbank Airport suddenly descended hundreds of feet Friday afternoon, possibly to avoid a mid-air collision.
The drop of around 500 feet came moments after the plane had been gaining altitude steadily since takeoff, causing tense moments on the plane. Passengers said on social media that they were startled by the move.
A military jet was headed southwest to Naval Base Ventura County in Point Mugu and was at a similar altitude — 14,525 feet — when the Southwest flight dropped, per Flightradar24.
The planes were around five miles apart and within 400 vertical feet of one another, headed in opposite directions, when the Southwest flight took evasive action, flight data on the website showed. The fighter jet stopped its own steady descent and maintained its height for several minutes after the incident.
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/southwest-flight-abruptly-descends-avoid-mid-air-collision/story?id=124084290
This article makes it sound like it was.
You’re right. I found it in FR24 from the tail number in your link. Looks like the Hunter (N335AX) turned right at the same time SWA1496 dipped, although I have no idea if the Hunter was simply realigning itself for landing. The Hunter was ahead of SW. July 25, 2025 at 19:03 UTC, over Russ. SW was climbing NE, the Hunter was descending WSW. The altitude status has too low a refresh rate and low precision, though I don’t know if premium subscription makes that better