The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating what caused a Southwest Airlines flight to veer off course and have a frightening close call with LaGuardia Airport’s control tower last month.
Southwest Airlines Flight 147, bound for New York from Nashville, was nearing landing at around 1 p.m. on March 23 when it veered off course due to bad weather, the agency said.
After circling the busy airport, the plane flew at an altitude of about 300 feet as air traffic controllers sounded an alarm, urging the pilots: “Turn around, please,” according to audio captured by LiveATC.net.
The crew was then instructed to abort the landing and climb to 2,000 feet, and air traffic controllers told them the plane was not aligned with the runway.
After telling the pilot to “continue climbing,” the controller said, “We did not intend to land on the runway.”
Southwest Airlines said the flight, carrying 150 passengers and crew, was diverted and safely landed in Baltimore “after experiencing turbulence and poor visibility at New York LaGuardia Airport.”
A spokesperson for the airline said: “We are considering this event as part of our safety system.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the incident, but said it has no immediate plans to release a report.
