Southwest Airlines Passengers Share Harrowing Account of Tampa Descent to 150 Feet

Passengers on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight experienced a harrowing ordeal when the aircraft descended prematurely to just 150 feet above Tampa Bay during its final approach to Tampa International Airport (TPA). The incident occurred earlier this month, with passengers now sharing their frightening experiences.

Flight WN425, traveling from Columbus, Ohio, to Tampa, encountered inclement weather as it began its final approach to TPA on July 14th. According to Amy Giannotti, a passenger on board, the descent initially felt normal until a sudden jolt occurred, causing alarm among those on the flight.

"You would have never known that anything was wrong. We didn’t drop from the sky. It was a slow descent, like normal," Giannotti told the Tampa Bay Times. However, moments later, passengers felt a sudden upward pull without any immediate explanation from the pilots.

The aircraft, descending to as low as 150 feet above Tampa Bay while still four miles from the airport, should have been over 1,600 feet above the water at that distance. Nancy Allen, a 52-year-old passenger, noticed the abnormal descent, observing large bolts of lightning from her window as the aircraft approached the water dangerously close.

At this point, Allen began recording the incident on her phone, fearing for her life and thinking, "If my husband finds my cell phone, he’ll know how I died." The plane's proximity to buildings like the 186-foot tall Westin Tampa Bay hotel and other structures near TPA further highlighted the perilous situation.

Veteran pilot Kent Davis and certified flight instructor Robert Katz described the incident as "extremely dangerous" and "near fatal," respectively. Davis noted, "They could have hit a tower." Despite the gravity of the situation, the pilots only calmly informed the passengers after the aborted landing, citing "gusty winds" as the cause of the missed approach.

Following the aborted landing, the flight diverted to Fort Lauderdale due to low fuel and landed safely. The plane remained at the airport for approximately four and a half hours before departing for the return flight, arriving at London Luton about three hours late.

Southwest Airlines has been in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding this incident, which marks the third time this year that one of its aircraft descended too close to terrain or water during an approach. The FAA has since increased its oversight of Southwest Airlines, similar to its actions with United Airlines earlier this year after a series of concerning incidents.