Second Southwest flight out of Bay Area airport this week diverted due to technical issues
Nov 14, 2024
(KRON) -- In the second incident of its kind this week, a Southwest Airlines flight departing from a Bay Area airport was diverted from its destination due to technical issues. The flight, SWA 4474, took off from San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport at 7:08 p.m. Wednesday.
The flight, which was bound for Reno-Tahoe International Airport, was diverted to Sacramento International Airport after the crew reported an illuminated flap warning light during initial descent, Southwest Airlines said.
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The crew, according to Southwest, followed safety procedures and landed the plane safely without incident. According to flight tracking website, FlightAware, the trajectory of the flight appears to show the plane, a Boeing 737, turning back from near the Nevada border and heading to Sacramento.
The plane landed in Sacramento at 8:27 p.m. According to FlightAware, it took off for Reno again at 11:15 p.m. and ultimately reached its original destination at 11:42 p.m.
"The crew followed safety procedures and landed without incident," a Southwest spokesperson told KRON4.com. "Southwest apologizes to our customers who were inconvenienced. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees."
Wednesday's incident follows on the heels of an incident on Tuesday when a Southwest flight bound for Burbank was forced to turn around and head back to San Jose Norman Y. Mineta International Airport. That plane, also a Boeing 737, made an emergency landing at the airport after engine trouble was reported.