FAA investigates after Southwest Airlines plane descended dangerously low on approach to airport

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the incident after a Southwest Airlines plane descended to a dangerously low altitude while approaching Oklahoma City airport shortly after midnight Thursday, the FAA said.

At 12:05 a.m., an automatic Minimum Altitude Warning System alert went off, prompting an air traffic controller to tell Southwest Airlines Flight 4069 that it had descended to a low altitude, 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) from the runway at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, an FAA spokesman said.

According to FlightRadar24, the plane flew over Yukon High School at a dangerously low altitude of about 625 feet, descending to about 525 feet at one point.

Southwest said in a statement Thursday evening that it was in contact with the FAA “to understand and resolve any irregularities in the aircraft’s approach to the airport.”

“Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees,” the company said in a statement.