Southwest pilot aborts Hollywood Burbank landing because runway 'wasn't quite clear': report

A Southwest pilot reportedly was heard on video telling passengers that his aircraft had to initiate a go-around after touching down briefly at Hollywood Burbank Airport because the "ordered runway wasn’t quite clear." 

The incident happened Thursday as the Boeing 737 plane was arriving from Las Vegas, according to KABC. 

"Hey folks, just a quick update. The ordered runway wasn't quite clear when we were going to touch down there, so we had to go-around," the pilot said over the plane’s intercom, in a video obtained by the station.  

The pilot added that it would then be another 5-10 minutes before landing.

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One passenger told KABC that the plane’s wheels briefly touched the runway before the aircraft took off again at a steep incline. 

The Federal Aviation Administration told Fox News Digital on Saturday that "The flight crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 2353 executed a pilot-initiated go-around after briefly landing at Hollywood Burbank Airport in California." 

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"There were no other aircraft or vehicles involved," the FAA added.

A Southwest Airlines spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "We don’t have any internal reports of a runway incursion, and the FAA has indicated to us they do not either."

"From our initial reports, the pilots performed a routine go around before landing safely. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of its customers and employees," the spokesperson added.

In July 2025, a Southwest pilot on a flight from Burbank to Las Vegas had to dive aggressively to avoid a midair collision, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported.