President Donald Trump took to his social media platform to share a message about a near miss on a Midway Airport runway that was captured on camera Tuesday.
The incident happened just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, when Southwest Airlines Flight 2504 was seen approaching a runway for landing before abruptly conducting a "go-around" as a business jet unexpectedly entered the runway "without authorization," the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
In his message, Trump praised the Southwest Airlines pilots, calling it a "nearly tragic close call."
"GREAT JOB BY THE SOUTHWEST PILOTS IN CHICAGO. A NEARLY TRAGIC CLOSE CALL. PERHAPS SUSPEND THE PILOTS LICENSE OF THE OTHER PLANE, WHO MUST HAVE BEEN 'SLEEPING!'" the president wrote on Truth Social.
Both the FAA and the National Transportation Security Board said they were investigating what happened.
A statement from Southwest Airlines confirmed the incident, saying Flight 2504 landed safely Tuesday morning "after the crew performed a precautionary go-around to avoid a possible conflict with another aircraft that entered the runway."
"The Crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees," the statement continued.
Video of the incident, posted to the X account Airport Webcams, showed a Southwest Airlines flight preparing to land on a Midway Airport runway. Just before touching down, the plane can be seen lifting back up into the air as a jet crosses the runway.
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A spokesperson for Flexjet said they were "aware of the occurrence" and conducting an investigation.
"Flexjet adheres to the highest safety standards and we are conducting a thorough investigation. Any action to rectify and ensure the highest safety standards will be taken," the spokesperson said in a statement.
Audio from air traffic controllers appeared to indicate FlexJet560 was told to "hold short" of the runway to allow the Southwest flight to land, though there appeared to be some confusion as the controller repeated the instructions.
The Southwest Flight then initiated the go-around, with pilots later heard asking controllers, "How'd that happen?"
INCIDENT: Southwest #WN2504 (Boeing 737-800 N8517F) in near miss 1448UTC/0848CST today @ Chicago/Midway as FlexJet #LXJ560 (Challenger 350) crosses Runway 31C.
— Airport Webcams (@AirportWebcams) February 25, 2025
ATC Audio (skip to 18min): https://t.co/e6OValtv39
MDW webcam & links: https://t.co/GzjpoMXwhL
(c) webcam host pic.twitter.com/IHqoie0rt3
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he was "incredibly thankful that everyone is safe" following the incident.
"Incidents like today prove why the folks at the FAA are so essential to the safety of Illinoisans and those across the nation," he wrote on social media.
The incident comes after several recent aviation incidents, including at least three fatal crashes so far in 2025.
On Jan. 29, a commercial American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter collided near the nation’s capital, killing 67 people. The collision was the deadliest plane crash in the U.S. since 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five more on the ground.
Three days later, a medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia, killing the six people onboard and another person on the ground. That Learjet generated a massive fireball when it smashed into the ground in a neighborhood not long after taking off from a small airport nearby.
Earlier this month, 10 were killed in a plane crash in Alaska when a commuter flight crashed on Alaska sea ice.
On Feb. 17, a Delta plane crash-landed in Toronto, with footage showing the plane upside down at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Officials said the flight, which originated from Minneapolis, experienced an "incident upon landing," leaving at least 18 people injured.
Last week, reports indicated the Trump administration had begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a brief statement it was "analyzing the effect of the reported federal employee terminations on aviation safety, the national airspace system and our members.”
A Transportation Department official told The Associated Press at the time that the agency has “retained employees who perform critical safety functions.” In a follow-up query the agency said it would have to look into whether the radar, landing and navigational aid workers affected were considered to handle critical safety functions.
The firings hit the FAA when it faces a shortfall in controllers. Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports. Among the reasons they have cited for staffing shortages are uncompetitive pay, long shifts, intensive training and mandatory retirements.
