By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has stated that a Southwest Airlines plane aborted its landing at Chicago Midway International Airport on Tuesday morning to avoid colliding with a private jet that entered the runway without authorization.
Southwest Flight 2504, arriving from Omaha, Nebraska, was descending toward the airport when the flight crew performed a go-around to prevent an incident.
The plane later landed safely, according to Southwest. The FAA has launched an investigation into the incident, which happened at approximately 8:50 a.m. local time.
A Bombardier Challenger 350 operated by Flexjet was heading to Knoxville, Tennessee, when its pilot misinterpreted air traffic control instructions.
Controllers had directed the pilot to cross one runway and hold short of another, but the pilot responded unclearly. According to LiveATC.net audio, the controller quickly corrected him, saying, “Flexjet 560, negative! Cross 31L, hold short Runway 31C.”
As the Southwest plane approached, its pilot chose to perform the go-around. Air traffic controllers responded, “-west 2504, uh, roger that. Climb, maintain 3,000.” After reaching the assigned altitude, the Southwest pilot asked, “Southwest 2504, uh, how’d that happen?”
Southwest Airlines said its crew “followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident.” The airline added, “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”
Flexjet said it was “aware of the occurrence” and was “working to gather more information on this situation.” The private jet, which can accommodate up to nine passengers, never took off from Midway, according to configurations listed on Flexjet’s website.
FlightRadar24 reported that the two aircraft came within approximately 2,050 feet before the Southwest plane executed the go-around. The Southwest jet flew over the private aircraft at an uncorrected pressure altitude of 900 feet, about 250 feet above ground after accounting for pressure and elevation.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is “aware” of the incident and is “gathering information about it.”
The event adds to a series of recent aviation safety concerns under investigation by the NTSB and FAA, including a deadly midair collision over the Potomac River, a Medevac jet crash in Philadelphia, and a fatal regional airline accident off the coast of Nome, Alaska.
Between January 2023 and September 2024, the NTSB investigated 13 runway incursions involving commercial or for-hire flights.