Southwest jet narrowly avoids colliding with business jet at Chicago airport

Flexjet adheres to the highest safety standards and we are conducting a thorough investigation,

a spokesperson said in a statement

Going around, Southwest.”

In a terrifying moment captured in radio transmissions, the Southwest pilot said

Just please know that my first officer and our flight attendants and myself place your safety and responsibility of carrying you to Miami to your families or vacations or your meetings at the highest level,

the pilot said

We believe all of these employees are critical not only to the frontline safety workers, but to the entire aviation ecosystem,

Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) National President Dave Spero said per ABC

If we're no longer there to create the maps that air traffic controls are using, mistakes will eventually happen,

one former FAA worker who asked to remain anonymous said

The crew performed a precautionary go-around to avoid a possible conflict with another aircraft that entered the runway,

Southwest Airlines said in a statement confirming the incident

How’d that happen?”

In air traffic control audio, the Southwest pilot can be heard asking the tower

Chris Murphysenator

Maybe not the best time to fire hundreds of FAA workers, tell the remaining workers you want to 'put them in trauma',

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said

Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees,

the company said

While these events are tragic, the likely explanation is simply 'random clustering,' which occurs when multiple crashes occur over a short period, warping our general perception and causing us to think that there is an increasing trend in plane crashes,

Matzus said

Air travel is statistically the safest form of travel and the spate of recent crashes isn’t necessarily indicative of an actual increase in frequency of plane crashes,

Matzus said

That could have been a tragic disaster. Somebody needs to be fired,

one X user wrote

The crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 2504 initiated a go-around when a business jet entered the runway without authorization at Chicago Midway Airport,

the agency said in a statement

Naturally, recent plane crashes such as the Delta plane flipping on landing in Toronto and the midair collision at Reagan National in DC, have raised public awareness and concerns about the safety of flying,

Jason Matzus, an attorney at Matzus Law, said

The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident,

a Southwest spokesperson said in an email to CNN