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.

Passengers aboard a Southwest Airline jet that took a dramatic plunge to avoid an oncoming aircraft were told by the pilot that they nearly struck another plane before landing safely in Las Vegas. The Boeing 737 jet dropped hundreds of feet in a little over 30 seconds during a flight on Friday, according to a flight tracking website.

A Southwest Airlines flight dropped several hundred feet in a matter of seconds to avoid a midair collision, after the Federal Aviation Administration said pilots were alerted to another aircraft's presence in the area.