Southwest Airlines flight 3097 had to return and make an emergency landing at Sacramento International Airport, California, on January 9.
The plane took off for John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, but had to return shortly afterwards after it lost power to one of the engines due to a bird strike.
The plane landed safely. No injuries were reported.
Southwest Airlines flight 2547 had to return and make an emergency landing at Oakland International Airport, California, on December 23.
According to the airline, “After takeoff, the captain in command made the decision to return to Oakland to check a maintenance item on the aircraft.” It is believed that the plane, that was heading to Chicago at the time, experienced a landing gear issue.
The plane circled over Oakland to burn off excess fuel before landing safely. All 139 passengers aboard remained unharmed.
The plane was taken out of service.
Southwest flight 987 made an emergency landing in San Antonio, Texas, on December 13.
The plane was heading from Austin to Valley International Airport, Harlingen, when the crew noticed that a part of the wing was missing and decided to divert.
The plane landed uneventfully. There were 109 passengers and 5 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained unhurt.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
Southwest Airlines flight 5929 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Kansas City International airport, Missouri, on November 22.
The plane was heading from Indianapolis to Los Angeles when the crew reported suspicious and unruly behavior of three passengers and requested an emergency landing.
The plane landed uneventfully.
The disruptive trio were taken for questioning while K-9 police dogs thoroughly searched the aircraft.
Authorities said the search teams found nothing unusual and the flight resumed after a while. The three passengers were also booked on a later flight.
Southwest Airlines flight 206 had to make an emergency landing in Tallahassee, Florida, on November 20.
The plane was en-route from Atlanta to Tampa when it was diverted due to an electrical smell in the cabin.
The plane landed uneventfully. All 143 passengers and 5 crew members remained safe.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
Southwest Airlines flight WN-2573 returned and made an emergency landing at Raleigh–Durham International Airport, Morrisville, North Carolina, on October 30.
The Boeing 737-300, heading towards Tampa, Florida, had to return in emergency due to bird strike.
The aircraft sustained minor damage on its left side.
All 124 passengers and 5 crew members aboard remained unhurt.
Southwest Airlines flight WN-386 had to reject take off from San Jose International Airport, California, on October 27.
The Ontario-bound Boeing 737-300 plane was accelerating for take off when its right hand engine ingested a bird, prompting the crew to reject take off at a high speed.
The plane safely returned to the apron.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
Southwest flight 2010 had to return and make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport, California, on October 18.
According to the airline, the plane was heading to San Francisco when the the pilot declared emergency due to a physical altercation between two passengers. Some sources reported that a male passenger choked a female passenger after she reclined the seat in front of him.
The plane landed safely. The male passenger was taken in by FBI agents for questioning.
The airline arranged an alternate plane for the remaining 136 passengers.
Southwest Airlines flight 541 had to return and make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport, Colorado, on the night of October 16.
The plane, heading towards Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, Washington, had to turn around after an electrical smell emerged in the cabin.
The plane landed safely.
All 143 passengers remained unhurt. The passengers were accommodated in another flight.
Two Southwest Airlines jets rolled into each other at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Washington, on September 28.
The aircrafts were being prepared to be towed to gates when the nose and fuselage of one collided with the wing of the other.
No one was injured in the accident.
The aircrafts were taken out of service.
Two Southwest Airlines Jets collided at Oakland International Airport, California, on August 30.
Authorities said the Orange County-bound flight 2674 was pushing back from the gate when its wing tip came in contact with another jet that had just arrived from Phoenix.
No injuries were reported.
Both aircrafts were grounded after the incident.
A Southwest Airlines plane veered off the taxiway at Orlando International Airport, Florida, on August 11th.
The incident happened after the passengers of flight WN-311, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, had exited the Boeing 737-700 plane.
Authorities said the aircraft was being taken for maintenance when it went off the taxiway and its nose gear collapsed.
No one was injured in the incident.
US Transportation Department has started an investigation into possible overcharging by airlines following May 2015 Amtrak train crash in Philadelphia.
The New York-Washington Amtrak rail service was suspended after a derailment that took 11 lives and injured 200 people.
The department has sent letters to JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and United Continental Holdings, asking for their average fares before, during and after the accident. According to transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, “These airlines have allegedly raised fees beyond what you would ordinarily be expected in the Northeast Corridor at a time when the Amtrak line was shut down.”
Southwest Airlines Flight WN-2869 had to return and make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, at 5:58 p.m. on July 5.
The Boeing 737-800, en-route to Los Angeles International Airport, had to return due a “performance issue with one of the tires”. It is believed that one of the aircraft’s tires blew during take off.
The plane made a rough landing at the airport, however, all 183 people aboard remained safe.
The passengers were later transported in a replacement plane
Two Southwest Airlines jets were involved in an accident at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, on June 6.
Southwest Flight 2183 was parked at the gate when Flight 4721 that was pushing back from the gate, clipped wings with it.
All the passengers were disembarked safely and both aircrafts were taken for inspection. An airline spokesperson said, “Our employees are working as quickly as possible to re-accommodate all customers… Safety is our number one focus and we will conduct an internal review to identify the details surrounding event.”
The FAA is investigating.
Southwest Airlines flight 1516 had to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport, California, on May 26.
The Boeing 737, en-route from San Jose to San Diego was diverted after a warning light indicated smoke in the cargo hold.
The plane landed uneventfully and all 75 passengers aboard remained safe.
The airline arranged an alternate aircraft for the passengers.
Southwest flight 100 had to make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport, Colorado, on April 24.
The flight was en-route from Las Vegas to Milwaukee when the pilot reported a pressurization issue in the aircraft and requested an emergency landing.
The plane landed safely.
Authorities said one passenger slipped while exiting the plane and was shifted to hospital.
Southwest Flight 947 had to make an unscheduled landing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on the evening of February 20.
The plane took off from Love Field in Dallas and was heading to Las Vegas when a passenger apparently had a heart attack.
The flight attendants and a passenger physician helped the sick passenger until the plane safely landed in New Mexico. Ground crews then took him for further medical treatment.
The plane resumed its journey shortly afterwards.
Southwest Airlines flight 3118 was forced to make an emergency landing at Baltimore–Washington International Airport, Maryland, at 8:49 p.m. on December 12.
Emergency protocols were deployed at the airport after the pilot reported a bird strike. The flight from San Antonio was approaching BWI at the time.
The plane landed safely and all 142 passengers and 5 crew members remained unharmed.
The aircraft was taken for examination.
Southwest Airlines flight 3654 had to make an emergency landing in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 10.
The decision for emergency landing was made after a smoke detector set off. The plane was en-route from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
The Boeing 737 landed uneventfully and all 118 passengers and 5 crew members remained unhurt.
The airline said in a statement that the fire detector went off after a passenger used an e-cigarette in the lavatory.
Southwest airlines flight 623 had to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles, California, on the morning of December 9.
The flight, heading from San Francisco to Phoenix, was diverted to Los Angeles International Airport after a passenger went into labor and gave birth midair.
The plane landed safely and the mother and her new born were shifted to a hospital. According to spokesperson of Los Angeles Fire Department Erik Scott, “LAFD praises an ER RN that assisted the mother in giving birth prior to our arrival.”
The flight was able to resume the journey with a 2.5 hours delay.
Southwest Airlines flight 1359 had to land in emergency at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, shortly before 1:30 p.m. on October 6.
The flight was on its way from Phoenix to Newark when a blown tire was observed on the aircraft’s main landing gear. The plane was then diverted to making an emergency landing.
Southwest spokesperson Dan Landson said that the plane landed uneventfully after burning off extra fuel. All 135 passengers and 5 crew members were shifted to another aircraft.
Southwest Airlines flight 1429 en route from Sacramento to Bob Hope Airport, Burbank, made an unscheduled landing at Los Angeles International Airport in the afternoon of October 5.
The pilot of the Boeing 737 decided to divert after he noticed a warning light indicating a potential issue with the aircraft’s flaps. The airline later released a statement saying that the decision to land at LAX was made “out of an abundance of caution.”
The flight landed safely and all 123 passengers onboard were transported to Burbank with a delay of few hours from the schedule. The pilot informed that the situation did not require any emergency protocols, therefore, no emergency vehicles were called on the scene at the time of landing.
A Southwest spokesperson confirmed that aircraft is being examined by the mechanics.
Southwest Airlines Flight 481 returned to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, located in Austin, Texas, for emergency landing on the morning of September 23.
The flight, headed to Dallas, was diverted after the crew reported odor in the cabin.
The plane landed safely however, as a precaution, passengers were evacuated through evacuation slides. None of the 107 passengers and 5 crew members was hurt.
The passengers were accommodated in other flights while the aircraft was taken for maintenance.
Southwest Airlines Flight 1704 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport on September 20.
The plane, en-route from Sacramento to Bob Hope Airport, Burbank, was diverted after its flaps malfunctioned during the flight.
The plane landed safely and no one was injured.
The airline said the plane “has been taken out of service for inspection and repairs”.