South
Terrified passengers ‘flew out of their seats’ during dramatic Southwest nosedive to avoid mid-air crash

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Passengers aboard Southwest flight 1496 from Burbank, California to Las Vegas, Nevada experienced a frightening few seconds when the aircraft took a sudden nosedive to avoid a midair collision shortly after takeoff.
The dramatic maneuver caused passengers to fly up out of their seats and into the ceiling as children and adults screamed, fearing the worst.
Two flight attendants are being treated for injuries, a Southwest Airlines spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The Southwest Airlines flight reportedly had to perform a nose dive to avoid an incoming plane. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
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Caitlin Burdi, who was on flight 1496, told Fox News Digital she had been on the same flight path before, so she knew the extreme turbulence was abnormal.
“About 10 minutes into the flight, we plummeted pretty far, and I looked around, and everyone was like, ‘OK, that’s normal’,” Burdi said. “Then, within two seconds, it felt like the ride Tower of Terror, where we fell 20 to 30 feet in the air. The screaming, it was terrifying. We really thought we were plummeting to a plane crash.”
Southwest confirmed the crew responded to two onboard traffic alerts after takeoff, at about 11 a.m. local time, “requiring them to climb and descend to comply with the alerts.”

At least one flight attendant was injured in the incident, passengers said. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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The airline said the flight continued to Las Vegas, where it landed “uneventfully,” according to a statement.
“Southwest is engaged with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to further understand the circumstances,” Southwest wrote. “We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew and Flight Attendants in responding to this event. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”
The FAA noted “another aircraft was in the vicinity while in Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center airspace.”

Passengers took to social media to share their harrowing stories of the flight. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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One flight attendant was dazed after hitting her head, passengers said. Another flight attendant announced he was quitting.
Following the dramatic drop, the pilot came on the intercom and said the plane almost collided with another plane, and they had lost air traffic control signal.
“It was absolutely terrifying,” Burdi said. “I just remember him saying, ‘What just happened was we almost collided with another plane, and I had to make the emergency attempt to go under because we lost service with the air traffic controller.’”
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Other passengers on the fearful flight took to social media to share their experience.
“Myself & Plenty of people flew out of their seats & bumped heads on ceiling, a flight attendant needed medical attention,” stand-up comedian Jimmy Dore wrote in an X post. “Pilot said his collision warning went off & he needed to avoid plane coming at us. Wow.”
The FAA said it is investigating.

Dallas, TX
1 killed, 5 hurt during overnight shooting in East Dallas early Sunday
Miami, FL
Where Miami Ranks in Polls After Final Bye Week of the Season

In a week where the Miami Hurricanes take their final bye week of the season, the college football world and the ACC saw many changes in the guard. Penn State lost to Northwestern, and now James Franklin has been fired, with a nearly $50 million buyout.
Florida State has unranked again after dropping its third consecutive game in the ACC this season, while Indiana defeated Oregon on the road to solidify itself as a potential player in the national championship hunt.
For the Canes, they remain in the same spot as last week in the AP Polls, but are climbing to the No. 2 spot in the USA Today Coaches polls.
Miami will have a “short week” as they face off against the Louisville Cardinals on Oct. 17 in a Friday night game at Hard Rock Stadium
(Ranking, team, first-place votes, record, points received)
1. Ohio State (50), 6-0, 163
2. Miami (13), 5-0, 1582
3. Indiana, (3), 6-0, 1531
4. Texas A&M, 6-0, 1433
5. Ole Miss, 6-0, 1331
6. Alabama, 5-1, 1315
7. Texas Tech, 6-0, 1266
8. Oregon, 5-1, 1175
9. Georgia, 5-1, 148
10. LSU, 5-1, 1012
11. Tennessee, 5-1, 939
12. Georgia Tech, 6-0, 904
13. Notre Dame, 793, 793
14. Oklahoma, 5-1, 786
15. BYU, 6-0, 655
16. Missouri, 5-1, 649
17. Vanderbilt, 5-1, 547
18. Virginia, 5-1, 521
19. South Florida, 5-1, 398
20. USC, 5-1, 361
21. Texas, 4-2, 319
22. Memphis, 6-0, 285
23. Utah, 5-1, 261
24. Cincinnati, 5-1, 184
25. Nebraska, 5-1, 149
Others receiving votes: Illinois 113, Michigan 73, Washington 36, UNLV 30, Navy 11, Mississippi St. 8, Tulane 2, San Diego St. 2
(Ranking, team, first-place votes, record, points received)
- Ohio State (63), 6-0, 1646
- Miami (FL) (2), 5-0, 1566
- Indiana (1), 6-0, 1492
- Texas A&M, 6-0, 1417
- Ole Miss, 6-0, 1389
- Alabama, 5-1, 1280
- Georgia, 5-1, 1198
- Texas Tech, 6-0, 1183
- Oregon, 5-1, 1154
- LSU, 5-1, 1062
- Tennessee, 5-1, 962
- Georgia Tech, 6-0, 951
- Oklahoma, 5-1, 781
- BYU, 6-0, 720
- Notre Dame, 4-2, 661
- Missouri, 5-1, 585
- Texas, 4-2, 519
- Vanderbilt, 5-1, 498
- Virginia, 5-1, 415
- Memphis, 6-0, 337
- USC, 5-1, 310
- Utah, 5-1, 298
- South Florida, 5-1, 234
- Cincinnati, 5-1, 169
- Illinois, 5-2, 151
Schools Dropped Out: No. 15 Michigan; No. 21 Iowa State; No. 22 Penn State; No. 23 Arizona State.
Others Receiving Votes: Michigan 119; Nebraska 90; Washington 85; UNLV 43; Navy 43; Louisville 18; Tulane 17; Arizona State 17; Duke 11; Iowa 9; Iowa State 7; Clemson 6; Houston 4; TCU 1; San Diego State 1; Pittsburgh 1.
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for the Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at Twitter @Justice_News5.
Follow all social media platforms to stay up to date with everything Miami Hurricanes- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and BlueSky.
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Atlanta, GA
Buffalo Bills at Atlanta Falcons Game Predictions | Week 6
What we’re hearing on the Bills: Buffalo’s offense has an extra day to prepare after the team’s first loss, which was also the first time it failed to score 30 points this season. One objective is reducing the turnovers (three vs. New England) against a Falcons team that has six takeaways on the season (tied for 11th most). But an important part of the offense that could be a challenge against Atlanta is the big plays. The Bills are second in the NFL with 37 explosive plays (rushes of 10-plus yards and completions of 20-plus yards), but the Falcons have allowed just 14 explosive plays this season, second fewest in the NFL. — Alaina Getzenberg
What we’re hearing on the Falcons: Atlanta’s defense has been excellent against the pass so far. It has allowed the fewest passing yards per game (108) — 46 yards per game fewer than any other team — and opposing teams have the seventh-worst EPA per dropback (minus-0.09) against the Falcons and the sixth-worst completion percentage over expected (minus-3.1%). However, the Falcons have not faced a QB like Josh Allen, whom coach Raheem Morris referred to as “a problem everywhere.” — Marc Raimondi
Stat to know: Falcons RB Bijan Robinson has five straight games with 100 yards from the line of scrimmage dating back to last season. That’s tied with 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey for the longest active streak in the NFL. — ESPN Research
Bold prediction: The Falcons will generate multiple 30-plus-yard gains on plays where they use motion at the snap. They use motion at the snap 53% of the time (second in the NFL), and the Bills are allowing 0.23 EPA per play vs. motion at the snap, third most in the NFL this season. — Walder
Fantasy nugget: The Bills’ defense has allowed the sixth-fewest fantasy points per game to WRs this season. Drake London did have 10 targets and a season-high 25 fantasy points in Week 4, but this isn’t a favorable matchup. Buffalo’s defense will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss and could make things tough for second-year QB Michael Penix Jr. See Week 6 rankings. — Moody
Betting nugget: The Bills are 0-3 ATS in their past three games, their longest ATS losing streak since Weeks 5-10 of 2023 (six straight). Read more. — ESPN Research
Maldonado’s pick: Bills 34, Falcons 31
Moody’s pick: Bills 35, Falcons 21
Walder’s pick: Bills 30, Falcons 20
FPI prediction: BUF, 61.0% (by an average of 4.6 points)
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