A Southwest Airlines flight coming in for landing at Chicago Midway International Airport had to quickly pull up after a private jet entered the runway “without authorization,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration. When asked why the private plane was on the runway to begin with, Homendy said the NTSB was looking into the incident, and it didn’t appear that air traffic control was responsible for the near-collision.

“It appears this was a failure of the flight crew from Flexjet to listen and abide by the instructions of air traffic control,” Homendy explained on Fox News’s Fox & Friends. “They were supposed to line up and wait and hold short of runway 31C, which Southwest was landing on, and they failed to do so.”

As part of the investigation into the incident, Homendy confirmed that the NTSB would collect the private jet’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from Southwest Airlines. She added that other interviews would need to be conducted and that “a lot more” is yet to be revealed about the cause of this.

The Southwest Airlines incident is the latest of several air travel incidents to occur in recent weeks, all of which are happening ahead of spring break season. Homendy underscored that air travel is still “incredibly safe” and that she has flown several times since these incidents occurred. 

“The biggest risk is getting in your car to and from the airport, not on the plane,” Homendy said.

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President Donald Trump congratulated the pilots of the Southwest Airlines plane for avoiding a serious accident and suggested that the pilots of the private plane should “perhaps” have their licenses suspended. 

The @NTSB and @FAANews are investigating the Chicago Midway International Airport incident. I will provide more updates once I have them.

However, it is imperative that pilots follow the instructions of air traffic controllers. If they do not, their licenses will be pulled.

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 25, 2025

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that he would provide more updates as the investigation continued. He stressed that pilots must follow directions from air traffic control and that pilot licenses could get pulled from those who disobey.