A Southwest Airlines flight dropped several hundred feet in a matter of seconds to avoid a midair collision, after the Federal Aviation Administration said pilots were alerted to another aircraft's presence in the area.

Passengers on a Southwest Airlines jet described a jarring drop on a flight from Hollywood Burbank Airport to Las Vegas that injured two flight attendants.

A Southwest Airlines flight from Burbank made an emergency descent of 475 feet to avoid colliding with another aircraft before safely landing in Las Vegas on Friday.

The Southwest Boeing 737 departed just before noon local time on Friday for a scheduled flight to Las Vegas. Six minutes after takeoff, a privately owned Hawker Hunter fighter jet crossed less than two miles in front of the Southwest plane, passing within a few hundred feet of the same altitude, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24.

Alarms sounded in the cockpit of a Southwest Airlines jet shortly after taking off from Hollywood Burbank airport near Los Angeles on Friday, prompting evasive maneuvers, the airline said in a statement.

Southwest Airlines will switch to assigned seats on Jan. 27, 2026, the airline announced. Seat assignments will go on sale July 29, 2025.

The FAA is investigating why a Southwest passenger jet had to take drastic measures to avoid hitting another aircraft. Hunter Sowards reports.