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Southwest flight plummets, injuring flight attendants
A Southwest Airlines plane rapidly dropped in elevation after departing from the Los Angeles area on Friday, with passengers posting online that the pilot was forced to rapidly change course to avoid a potential collision with another aircraft.
Flight 1496 from Hollywood Burbank Airport to Las Vegas plummeted rapidly, lifting passengers out of their seats and injuring two flight attendants.
The crew “responded to two onboard traffic alerts… requiring them to climb and descend to comply with the alerts”, Southwest said in a statement.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was investigating the “incident”. It comes less than one week after a similar near-miss.
“Ensuring the safety of everyone in the national airspace system remains our top priority,” the FAA statement added.
Stand-up comedian Jimmy Dore was onboard the plane, and was among the passengers saying that the erratic move was due to a near-miss with another plane.
“Pilot said his collision warning went off & he needed to avoid plane coming at us. Wow,” Dore wrote on X. “A flight attendant needed medical attention.”
His colleague Stef Zamorano added that all the passengers applauded when the plane landed.
Caitlin Burdi told Fox News that passengers were “screaming” as the plane rapidly fell.
“It was terrifying. We really thought we were plummeting to a plane crash,” she said.
She added that the pilot came over the speaker afterwards to say that the plane had almost hit another plane, and that they had lost contact with air traffic control.
“I just remember him saying, ‘What just happened was we almost collided with another plane, and I had to make the emergency attempt to go under because we lost service with the air traffic controller,'” she said.
According to CNN, the plane was nearly intercepted by a privately owned Hawker Hunter fighter jet after less than six minutes in the air.
The jet crossed less than two miles in front of it, and within a few hundred feet of its altitude, CNN reported, citing flight tracking data. It had departed from El Pas, Texas and was flying to Oxnard, California.
The Southwest statement said that the flight continued on to Las Vegas, “where it landed uneventfully”, and that the airline is “engaged” with the FAA “to further understand the circumstances”.
“We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew and Flight Attendants in responding to this event. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”
It comes less than one week after a Delta regional flight from Minneapolis was forced to make a sudden evasive manoeuvre to avoid a US military bomber.
(BBC)
Muhammad Shazad has broken the record for the fastest first-class century by a Pakistani batter, reaching the mark in just 49 balls.
The right-hander smashed eight sixes and 12 fours in his innings of 114 off 62 balls for Pakistan Television against Kingsmen Academy at the Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad on the opening day of the third round of the President’s Trophy.
This is Shahzad’s sixth first-class century in 21 matches. Batting at No. 5, he walked out when PTV were struggling at 34 for 3 and struck a 143-run stand with Mohammad Taha, who made 43. Shahzad has also played 22 List A matches and 26 T20s. He made his PSL debut for Islamabad United in the 2025 season, playing six matches.
Misbah-ul-Haq previously held the record for the fastest first-class century by a Pakistan batter for his 56 ball effort against Australia in the second Test at Abu Dhabi in 2014. Misbah, at the time, levelled Viv Richards’ record for the fastest Test century. But that record was broken two years later by Brendon McCullum, when he made a 54-ball century against Australia in Christchurch in the second Test of the series.
Shahzad has come through the PCB’s age-group programme, playing for Pakistan’s Under-16 and Under-19 sides. He played in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa.
(Cricinfo)
Latest News
Showerss above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North-western provinces and in Galle and Matara Districts
WEATHER FORECAST FOR 24 SEPTEMBER 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 24 September 2026 by the Department of Meteorology
The Deep Depression over the West-central and adjoining Northwest Bay of Bengal is moving west-northwestwards and is currently crossing the North Andhra Pradesh and adjoining South Odisha coasts of India.
Although this system will not have a direct impact on Sri Lanka, the prevailing rainy conditions in the southwestern part of the island are expected to continue due to the wind flow towards the system.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North-western provinces and in Galle and Matara Districts. Heavy showerss above 100 mm are likely at some places in the above areas.
A few showers will occur in North-central province and in Mannar district.
Strong winds of about (40-50) kmph can be expected at times over the Western slopes of the Central hills, the North-central and North-western provinces and in Trincomalee, Hambantota and Matale Districts.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
North Korean weightlifter Ri Song Gum has broken three world records en route to winning gold in the women’s 49kg (108lbs) competition, which saw India’s Mirabai Chanu win an elusive Asian Games medal by finishing second.
Ri gave North Korea its first gold of the games in Nagoya, Japan, on Wednesday, joining an elite club of four weightlifters who have won three Asian Games gold medals.
The 28-year-old hauled 94kg above her head in the opening snatch discipline – the first official segment of the competition where athletes lift a barbell from the floor to an overhead position in a single motion. The lift was 1kg heavier than the previous world record of 93kg.
Ri followed it up by breaking the world record twice in the 115kg clean and jerk – a two-part movement where a barbell is lifted from the floor to the shoulders and then pushed overhead. The 4ft-7in (139.7cm) weightlifter hoisted 116kg and 121kg above her head.
Ri’s total lift of 215kg obliterated the old world record total by 7kg.
She is the fourth lifter, and first woman, to win three Asian Games weightlifting golds and joined Iran’s Mohammad Nassiri (1966-74), South Korea’s Kim Tae-hyun (1990-98) and Iran’s Behdad Salimi (2010-18), who all won three gold medals. No athlete has won four weightlifting gold medals.
In the same category, India’s Chanu finally won an Asian Games medal at the third time of asking. She won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The 32-year-old is India’s most decorated weightlifter, with three Commonwealth gold medals and a silver to her name, along with multiple global titles.
She lifted a total of 198kg after a snatch of 87kg and a clean and jerk of 111kg, while Indonesia’s Diana Tri Wijayana took bronze with a total of 191kg, comprising 88kg and 103kg.
Chanu’s silver also ended India’s 28-year wait for a weightlifting medal at the games since Karnam Malleswari won silver in 1998.
(Aljazeera)
Muhammad Shahzad smashes fastest first-class hundred by a Pakistani batter
Gul, Kharote spin Afghanistan to victory over Japan in Asian Games opener
Showerss above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North-western provinces and in Galle and Matara Districts
Mirabai Chanu wins Asian Games silver as Ri breaks weightlifting record
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