Southwest Flight Suddenly Drops While Above Water

A Boeing 737 Max 8 jet flown by Southwest Airlines suddenly plummeted over one hundred feet as it was passing over the water, causing a diversion that deposited passengers 200 miles from their intended destination, The New York Post and UPI reported.

According to data from Flightradar 24 , Southwest Flight 425—traveling from Columbus, OH to Tampa, FL—was nearing its destination on the evening of July 14 when, without warning, the plane dropped 150 feet as it crossed over the ocean off the coast of Florida.

A federal investigation into the incident is underway.

The white-knuckle episode occurred as the aircraft was passing over Old Tampa Bay near the Courtney Campbell Causeway. At the time, the area was being pelted with severe thunderstorms and low visibility. An air traffic controller alerted the pilots of their low altitude, at which point they adjusted course. The plane had to skip its intended landing spot and instead docked at an airport 200 miles away.

“ Southwest Flight 425 safely diverted to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 14 after the crew discontinued their planned approach into Tampa International Airport. The aircraft returned to Tampa after a short time on the ground in Fort Lauderdale,” Southwest confirmed in a statement.

"Southwest is following its robust Safety Management System and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities," the airline’s statement continued. "Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees."

This is the third low-altitude incident for Southwest Airlines in the past four months; and the latest in a litany of troubling incidents involving Boeing jets .

In June, a Southwest jet approaching Oklahoma’s Will Rogers airport dropped to an altitude of 525 feet before regaining air, terrifying neighborhood residents. In April, a Southwest flight bound for Hawaii plunged an astonishing 4,000 feet, coming to a rest just 400 feet above the sea off the coast of Kuai. In the latter case, Southwest claimed the error was due to the somewhat inexperienced first officer accidentally pushing a control forward switch.