A Boeing 737 aircraft suddenly descended to about 500 feet over Oklahoma, alarming residents who feared a crash.

Southwest Airlines Flight 4069, en route to Will Rogers World Airport, dropped to roughly 500 feet while flying over a high school in the City of Yukon just after midnight on Wednesday. Doorbell camera footage captured the Boeing 737 MAX-8 hovering above houses before flying out of frame.

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A startled resident wrote on the Yukon Happenings Facebook page, “It woke me up and I thought it was gonna hit my house,” as reported by The Oklahoman.

The descent prompted air traffic control to contact the pilot. “Southwest 4069, low altitude alert,” the air traffic controller said. “You good out there?”

The pilot confirmed there was no issue with the aircraft, circled back, and quickly regained altitude, crossing over Yukon High School at more than 1,000 feet. The plane then landed safely at the airport on a different runway. Air Traffic Control personnel confirmed there were no issues with the Boeing 737 Max-8, according to The Oklahoman.

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The low approach and late hour caused concern among residents. Spencer Basoco told KFOR, “I was kind of like halfway in between sleep, being awake, and I just hear that WHOOSH. And I thought at first, like a storm was blowing in… because it just sounded like a wall of wind. And I looked out the window where the sound was coming from… if you go a few blocks away is the high school. And I just see a plane. I knew it wasn’t normal.”

Southwest Airlines stated they are working with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand what caused the sudden descent. “Southwest is following its robust Safety Management System and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities with the aircraft’s approach to the airport,” they said. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”

This incident adds to Boeing’s ongoing struggles, including issues with landing gears, doors popping off mid-flight, and faulty software systems. These problems led to catastrophic crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019, resulting in multiple deaths.

Boeing’s troubles continued in January when a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon. Current and former Boeing employees have accused the company of taking safety shortcuts, and Boeing is under investigation by the FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the Justice Department.

Earlier this month, a Boeing plane experienced a rare Dutch roll, a combination of yawing motion and rocking from wingtip to wingtip.

Whistleblowers who have spoken out about the company’s culture have been fired. Sam Mohawk, a quality assurance investigator at Boeing’s 737 assembly plant near Seattle, told a subcommittee that “nonconforming” parts could be winding up in 737 Max jets. Mohawk charged that Boeing hid evidence after the FAA announced plans to inspect the plant in June 2023.

The FAA said it would “thoroughly investigate” the allegations and has received more reports of safety concerns from Boeing employees since the January incident on the Alaska Airlines Max.

Lawmakers have criticized CEO Dave Calhoun for his role in Boeing’s safety issues. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, said, “It’s the C suite, it’s the management It’s what you’ve done to this company. That’s where the problem is. The problem’s at the top. Your engineers, they’re probably the best in the world, your machinists, they’re outstanding. You’re the problem. Not just what’s happened at Boeing in the last year or two, but what’s happened over the last 20 what the what the C suite has done to this company. Let me give you an example…”

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