FAA Investigating Southwest Flight That Came Within 400 Feet of Crashing Into Ocean

The Lihue Airport, where the plane was headed, is known for its poor weather conditions, which can be especially difficult for newer pilots.

A general view of a Southwest Airlines jet photographed at LaGuardia Airport in the Queens borough of New York City on Feb. 4, 2024. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a Southwest Airlines flight that came within hundreds of feet of the ocean off a Hawaiian island in early April.

The incident occurred aboard Southwest Flight 2786 on April 11, which was en route to Lihue, Hawaii, from Honolulu. Flight tracking data from FlightAware shows the plane reached a cruising altitude of roughly 16,000 feet at about 1 a.m. before rapidly descending by up to 4,400 feet per minute.