A Southwest Airlines flight narrowly avoided collision with a private jet on Tuesday morning (local time) at Chicago Midway International Airport in the United States. The near collision happened as the private jet entered the runway without authorization, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The runway incursion unfolded through a series of miscommunications captured in air traffic control recordings obtained from FlightRadar24.

In the recording, the air traffic controllers can be initially heard instructing the private Flexjet 560 to “turn left on Runway 4L, cross Runway 31L and hold short of Runway 31C.” 

The jet pilot appeared confused with the instructions and replied, “Alright, left on 2 – uh – 4L, cross the 22, or 13C, Flexjet 560.”

The air traffic controller on the ground immediately corrected the pilot saying, “Flexjet 560, negative! Cross 31L, hold short Runway 31C.”

The plane was reportedly just 50 feet from touching down on the runway before it was forced to pull up.

The audio from the air traffic control tower also recorded the conversation between controllers and the pilot of the Southwest plane, the moment he made the split-second decision to cancel the landing and fly upwards to avoid ramming into the private jet on the runway.

As the descending plane suddenly again manoeuvred into the air, controllers responded, “-southwest 2504, uh, Roger that. Climb, maintain 3,000.”

Once the plane reached 3,000 feet in the air, the pilot asked the tower, “Southwest 2504, uh, how’d that happen?”

The incident, which took place at around 8:50 am local time, is being investigated by FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board, American media reports said. 

The video footage of the near-miss crash was widely shared on social media, where Southwest Flight 2504 can be seen making its final descent for the landing when suddenly a white private jet appears on its runway. The Southwest Airlines pilot suddenly cancelled its landing at the last minute, climbing toward the skies and accelerating away from the airport. The move allowed it to avoid colliding with a private plane that was ready to take off from the same runway.

Later, the flight landed safely at the Chicago airport after the flight crew had to perform a go-around to prevent a potential incident, according to Southwest.