So far 2025 has felt like a very bad year for aviation, with a series of fiery fatal crashes and one dramatic crash where everyone survived. However, statistically the number of accidents is within normal range, and commercial aviation is still very safe. Yesterday, Chicago Midway experienced a close call, where a catastrophic collision was narrowly avoided by the heads up response of a Southwest flight crew.
As a Southwest flight was landing, a private plane crossed the runway right in front of it, forcing the Southwest pilots to perform a "go around," aborting the landing to go around to try again. The Southwest pilot is remarkably calm when advising air traffic control and only slightly annoyed when he later asks, "How did that happen?"
In this video Brian Murray, a pilot and software engineer has an excellent analysis of where things went wrong. His description of the mistakes made by the Flexjet pilots leading to the runway incursion explains every step of the incident in a way non-pilots or aviation buffs can understand.
In his video, Hoover, a former fighter pilot has a more technical examination of the errors made by the Flexjet crew. His channel, called "Pilot Debrief" is geared towards turning aviation mishaps into teaching moments. He points out that Midway is a very busy airport with a somewhat confusing layout, with multiple "hot spots" where there is a high risk of collisions. However, the Flexjet crew should have familiarized themselves with the airport diagram and asked the controller for help if they needed it.
Previously: Trump fires "hundreds" of FAA workers — hours before yet another deadly plane crash
