Southwest Flight 2504 executed a heart-stopping last-second go-around at Chicago Midway Airport (KMDW) this morning to avoid a business jet that taxied onto the landing Runway 31C. The incident occurred at around 10 am Central time, when the Boeing 737-800 was arriving on a flight from Eppley Airfield (KOMA) in Omaha, Nebraska. You can see the flight record of Flight 2504 here on FlightRadar24.
Have to pay attention as a pilot at Midway. In visual weather the controllers there run planes really tight and close. Of course that goes both ways so it will be interesting to see the FAA or NTSB report on this. Nice job on that go-around by the Southwest crew.
Huge recent push on runway safety by multiple international organizations. It is the number one risk in aviation. What we’re coming away with is that the human brain is maxed out and needs help from technology. Midway has Airport Surface Detection Equipment installed but…
Job well done by the WN crew. Excellent S/A and immediate problem solving and decision making! FLEXJET crew… shame on you! What happened, when approaching a RWY or crossing taxiway, “Clear left. Clear right?” The skies will be safer with the crew banned from the skies.
One would expect a large fractional carrier to have some SOPs regarding crossing runways, and my guess is they do. Even small unregulated flight departments I flew with had standardized runway crossing practices and we all abided by them. I cannot imagine crossing a runway without both pilots visually and audibly confirming a totally clear runway regardless of having been cleared to cross.
Would the SWA Capt have used the TOGA button or just in haste manually done it? Had the wheels spun up and the spoilers deployed, would have been a mess.
What a massive fail by the Flex Jet crew, runway hold short bars crossed WITHOUT clearance and then NOT CLEARING left and right before crossing a runway.
Great job by the Southwest crew and I have a feeling there are some Flexjet pilots in for time off flying and serious retraining.
That’s a good question. The aircraft was probably not on autopilot landing in VMC at Midway. That would have provided pitch and throttle action to accomplish the GA. More likely, it was a hand-flown approach/landing, possibly with auto-throttles engaged. When the TO/GA paddle is depressed in that situation, the throttles respond with TO/GA power and the pilot flies the pitch. Either way, kudos to the crew who reacted before the bizjet actually encroached on the runway. That, my friends, is situational awareness! Excellent job!
Why are you even blathering about the approach and the systems involved and how the pilots responded? The problem is the bizjet should have and didn’t stop short of the runway. End of story.
Great job by the SWA crew in recognizing the threat and going around. After doing a little research, I discovered on Google maps of Midway that runway 4L does NOT have a hold short line painted on the runway when approaching 31C. Now the opposite is true when taxiing on the 31s and approaching the intersection of the 4s. (Granted we don’t know how recent the google images are) I am not making an excuse for the FlexJet pilots but merely pointing out a possible contributing factor.
Chill Chuck. Just personal curiosity, interest in how it all works. And why do you care if I ask the question? I’m sorry (not really) that you consider my question to be blathering.