Southwest Airlines, jet, plane, Midway Airport, Chicago
Chicago Midway Airport video/Screengrab

Plane Forced To Return To Sky After Almost Colliding With Another Aircraft In Scary Runway Incident In Chicago

A Southwest Airlines flight was forced to use a go-around pattern as it came in for a landing at Chicago Midway Airport after a private plane decided to taxi across the runway path on Tuesday.

Videos by Wide Open Country

So yeah, less than ideal, and just the latest in some scary recent incidents involving air travel.

Airport video showed the Southwest plane nearly touching down on the runway -- then suddenly pulling back up into the sky. It did so to avoid the smaller FlexJet plane that had entered its path on the runway. The video shows the larger aircraft flying over the smaller one.

When all was said and done, Southwest Flight 2504 landed safely. Southwest Airlines said in a statement to Fox News that the crew made the best maneuver to avoid "possible conflict" with the FlextJet.

"The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident," a Southwest spokesperson told Fox News in a statement. "Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees."

Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that the "business jet entered the runway without authorization." As usual with news like this, everything is still under investigation.

Plane Scares Becoming Commonplace

A near collision is the latest in a series of concerning air travel incidents in the U.S. On Tuesday, a United Airlines flight with nearly 200 passengers made an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey due to a "possible mechanical issue," the airline said.

On Monday, a Delta Air Lines flight was forced to return to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after a "haze" filled the cabin. Passengers evacuated safely, and no injuries were reported.

Earlier this month, a Delta flight caught fire and flipped upside down while landing at Toronto Pearson Airport in Canada. All passengers survived, but there were injuries. Last week, two small planes collided midair at a regional airport in Arizona, killing two people.

And last month, an American Airlines plane collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people. Less than two days later, a medical ambulance flight crashed in Philadelphia, killing seven.