The plane suddenly jolted shortly after takeover then felt like it was falling, said Stef Zamorano, who was flying to Las Vegas with her husband to celebrate his birthday.

Passengers said the pilot of a Southwest Airlines flight had to "dive aggressively" in order to avoid a midair collision over Burbank.

The crew of a Las Vegas-bound Southwest Airlines plane flying out of Hollywood Burbank Airport on Friday responded to two onboard traffic alerts, which led to staff injuries, airline representatives said.