Southwest Flight 2504 executed a heart-stopping last-second go-around at Chicago Midway Airport (KMDW) this morning to avoid a business jet that taxied onto the landing Runway 31C. The incident occurred at around 9:00 am local time (CST). The Southwest Boeing 737-800 was arriving on a flight from Eppley Airfield (KOMA) in Omaha, Nebraska. You can see the flight record of Flight 2504 here on FlightRadar24.
CNN news video on Youtube (posted below) shows the Boeing on short final to the 6,522-foot runway, Midway’s longest, then initiating the go-around either just before or after the main landing gear touched down. The nosewheel never contacted the surface.
The business jet, a Bombardier Challenger 350 operating as Flexjet 560, can be seen taxiing across Runway 31C on Runway 4L at a 90-degree angle from left to right. ATC audio reveals that the Challenger started its taxi from the West Ramp for a planned takeoff on Runway 22L and was instructed by ground control to hold short of Runway 31C. The crew’s initial readback incorrectly said “cross Runway 31C.” That was corrected by the ground controller and Flexjet 560 read back the clearance correctly – “hold short of Runway 31C.” But the Challenger continued onto the landing runway, prompting the Southwest crew to initiate the aggressive go-around. After climbing out, Southwest 2504 coordinated with Chicago Approach, entered a left-hand pattern, and landed safely on Runway 31C.
Flexjet 560 took off from Midway, flew to Knoxville, Tennessee (KTYS); then to Dulles International, Washington (KIAD); and finally on to Northwest Florida Beaches International (KECP), about 72 nautical miles east of Pensacola, landing at around 4 pm this afternoon.
The bottom of the MDW Airport Diagram includes the following warning in all capital letters: “Caution: Be alert to runway crossing clearances. Readback of all runway holding instructions is required.”
