Passengers on Southwest Flight 1496 to Las Vegas experienced a terrifying nosedive when the pilot took action to avoid a midair collision, causing injuries as people hit the ceiling.

The passenger jet was responding to an alert of another aircraft in the vicinity, federal authorities said. A Cold War-era military plane was nearby at the time.

Alarms sounded in the cockpit of a Southwest Airlines jet shortly after taking off from Hollywood Burbank airport near Los Angeles on Friday, prompting evasive maneuvers, the airline said in a statement.

Passengers onboard a Southwest Airlines flight from Burbank to Las Vegas said their pilot "aggressively" dived to avoid a midair collision.

A Southwest Airline jet heading to Las Vegas from Southern California took a dramatic plunge shortly after takeoff Friday in response to an alert about a nearby plane, sending some passengers flying out of their seats and injuring two flight attendants.

Minutes after takeoff Friday, a Southwest flight leaving Burbank, California, descended after two onboard alerts, injuring two flight attendants and frightening passengers, the airline and people on b

The sudden maneuver was made during a Friday flight out of California after two collision safety alerts sounded in the cockpit, causing the pilots to take evasive action, the airline said.

Big Names Fall Off the Cliff. Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) is one of the worst-performing stocks on Thursday. Southwest Airlines snapped a four-day winning streak on Thursday, slashing 11.16 percent to close at $33.