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Talk about flying under the radar.
Locals in Oklahoma, US, thought the pilots might have been in the middle of radioing a Mayday message when a Boeing 737 plane suddenly plunged within 500ft of a residential street on Wednesday night (19 June).
Southwest Airlines flight 4069 had taken off from Las Vegas to head to Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City earlier in the evening, but it seems the preparation to land got underway extremely prematurely.
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Despite still being a good nine miles away from the airport, the aircraft suddenly dropped close to rows of homes on a suburban street while the majority of residents were sleeping soundly.
The dramatic descent triggered a series of altitude alarms, including the Minimum Safe Altitude Warning, which prompted an air traffic controller to alert the Southwest pilots about how close they were cutting it.
According to data from Flightradar24, the Boeing 737 was just 525ft above the ground as it flew over the suburban area.
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Audio of the exchange captured the moment the air traffic control worker said: "Southwest 4069, low altitude alert. You good out there?"
Confirming there were no issues with the aircraft, one of the pilot's then responded: "Yeah, we’re going around, 4069."
The crew were then instructed to remain at 3,000ft as they made their way to Will Rogers World Airport.
The plane hit its lowest altitude while flying over Yukon High School in Oklahoma at 12:06am local time, but thankfully, it managed to land safely on another runway shortly afterwards after circling the area.
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Footage captured by a doorbell camera showed the Southwest Airlines flight plummeting concerningly close to the family street, with residents saying they were woken up by the deafening sounds of the plane's engines.
In a local Facebook group, one person said: "It woke me up and I thought it was gonna hit my house."
Another wrote in a social media post: "Thought I was having cool dreams about airplanes other night but actually had a 737 buzz my house."
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Spencer Basoco, who lives in the area, also told KFOR that he was roused from his sleep by the racket.
He explained: "I was kind of like halfway in between sleep, being awake, and I just hear that WHOOSH. And I thought at first, like a storm was blowing in, because it just sounded like a wall of wind.
"And I looked out the window where the sound was coming from... if you go a few blocks away is the high school. And I just see a plane. I knew it wasn't normal."
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed on Thursday (20 June) that it has launched an investigation into the incident and Southwest Airlines said they were working with the agency to address any 'irregularities'.
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A spokesperson said in a statement cited by ABC News: "Southwest is following its robust safety management system and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities with the aircraft’s approach to the airport.
"Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees."
LADbible Group has contacted Southwest Airlines for further comment.
Olivia Burke