FlexJet Challenger Taxis Onto Chicago Runway As B737 Approaches

Chicago’s Midway International Airport (MDW) was seconds away from a major accident as a FlexJet business aircraft taxied onto a runway while a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 was landing. The airliner was forced to go around just 50 feet above the ground.

Southwest Flight 2504 took off from Eppley Airfield (OMA) in Omaha, Nebraska at 7:26 am on February 25. After around an hour and a half in the air, it was instructed to set up for MDW’s runway 31C.

As the Southwest B737 was preparing to land, a FlexJet Bombardier Challenger 350 was taxiing for departure to Knoxville, Tennessee. Air traffic controllers instructed the business jet to hold short of Runway 31C, but its pilots somehow heard and repeated “cross the 22, or 13C, Flexjet 560.”

As controllers attempted to stop the jet, the airliner was forced to abort the landing only 50 feet from the ground. It executed a steep go-around, passed over the Challenger at 250 ft, and circled back to land.

“The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident,” a Southwest spokesperson stated. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”

The incident comes during a time of heightened awareness regarding runway incursions. The NTSB investigated thirteen incursion events, ranging from no safety impact to near misses, between January 2023 and September 2024. The concern led the FAA to open an audit into runway incursion risks at 45 of the busiest US airports last October.

"Flexjet adheres to the highest safety standards, and we are conducting a thorough investigation," a company representative expressed. "Any action to rectify and ensure the highest safety standards will be taken.”

Though the latest event seems directly tied to pilot error, it has only heightened concerns over the security of the national airspace. It is the latest in a string of several disturbing aviation accidents, many being fatal, that have drawn attention to the 3,000-person shortage of air traffic controllers and controversial political moves.

FMI: www.southwest.com, www.flexjet.com