FAA investigating after business jet at Midway involved in near miss with Southwest flight

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a near miss between a Southwest Airlines plane and a jet on a runway at Chicago's Midway Airport was caught on camera.

The incident happened just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, when Southwest Airlines Flight 2504 was seen approaching a runway for landing before abruptly conducting a "go-around" as a business jet unexpectedly entered the runway "without authorization," the FAA said in a statement.

The National Transportation Security Board said it is also investigating.

A statement from Southwest Airlines confirmed the incident, saying Flight 2504 landed safely Tuesday morning "after the 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. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees," the statement continued.

A spokesperson for Flexjet said they were "aware of the occurrence" and were working to "gather more information on this situation."

Audio from air traffic controllers appeared to indicate FlexJet560 was told to "hold short" of the runway to allow the Southwest flight to land, though there appeared to be some confusion as the controller repeated the instructions.

The Southwest Flight then initiated the go-around, with pilots later heard asking controllers "how'd that happen?"

Video of the incident, posted to the X account Airport Webcams, showed a Southwest Airline flight preparing to land on a Midway Airport runway. Just before touching down, the plane can be seen lifting back up into the air as a jet crosses the runway.

Neither the Chicago Department of Transportation nor the Chicago Department of Aviation immediately returned NBC Chicago's request for comment.

The incident comes after several recent aviation incidents, including at least three fatal crashes so far in 2025.

On Jan. 29, a commercial American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter collided near the nation’s capital, killing 67 people. The collision was the deadliest plane crash in the U.S. since 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five more on the ground.

Three days later, a medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia, killing the six people onboard and another person on the ground. That Learjet generated a massive fireball when it smashed into the ground in a neighborhood not long after taking off from a small airport nearby.

Earlier this month, 10 were killed in a plane crash in Alaska when a commuter flight crashed on Alaska sea ice.

On Feb. 17, a Delta plane crash-landed in Toronto, with footage showing the plane upside down at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Officials said the flight, which originated from Minneapolis, experienced an "incident upon landing," leaving at least 18 people injured.

Last week, reports indicated the Trump administration had begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a brief statement it was "analyzing the effect of the reported federal employee terminations on aviation safety, the national airspace system and our members.”

A Transportation Department official told The Associated Press at the time that the agency has “retained employees who perform critical safety functions.” In a follow-up query the agency said it would have to look into whether the radar, landing and navigational aid workers affected were considered to handle critical safety functions.

The firings hit the FAA when it faces a shortfall in controllers. Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports. Among the reasons they have cited for staffing shortages are uncompetitive pay, long shifts, intensive training and mandatory retirements.