$20M IndyCar legend Marco Andretti comments on Chicago airplane near-miss - “This is getting too common”

Marco Andretti, a two-time IndyCar race winner and son of American racing legend Michael Andretti, has voiced his concern over the growing number of air traffic incidents in the USA. He recently commented on a near-miss at Chicago Midway International Airport on Tuesday morning by sharing a video of the event on X and questioning the state of air traffic control (ATC).

The incident took place just before 9 a.m. when Southwest Airlines Flight 2504 was preparing to land. The aircraft was forced to abort its approach and perform a go-around after a business jet suddenly entered the runway without proper clearance. Both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have launched investigations into what went wrong.

Southwest Airlines released a statement (via NBC Chicago) confirming that the flight eventually landed safely “after the crew performed a precautionary go-around to avoid a possible conflict with another aircraft that entered the runway.”

$20 million-worth Marco Andretti (as per Celebrity Networth) shared video footage of the incident on his X account and captioned the post saying:

"This is getting too common. What’s going on with ATC?!"

The Chicago incident is the latest in a series of aviation accidents and near-misses across the country in 2025. Some of these have led to deadly crashes, with three major incidents claiming lives this year. On January 29, a collision between an American Airlines commercial jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., resulted in 67 fatalities, marking the worst air disaster in the U.S. since 2001.

This was followed by another crash three days later when six people were killed on a medical transport plane and one person on the ground in Philadelphia. In early February, a commuter flight in Alaska went down on sea ice, taking the lives of ten people. These accidents, combined with a growing number of near-misses, have rightly concerned Marco Andretti about aviation safety and the effectiveness of air traffic control.

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Marco Andretti is set to return to the Indy 500 with Andretti Global

Since stepping away from full-time IndyCar racing in 2020, Marco Andretti has continued to compete in the Indy 500 each year. This season, he will again return behind the wheel of the No. 98 MAPEI/CURB Honda, joining Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, and Marcus Ericsson as part of Andretti’s four-car lineup.

The 2025 edition of the Indy 500 will be historic, as it marks the first time the NTT IndyCar Series will use hybrid powertrains. The additional data from running a fourth car is expected to benefit the team, according to Andretti Autosport COO Rob Edwards.

"He has a lot of experience at Indianapolis, and I think we all see benefits in running an extra car in Indy and the extra data, information, opportunity to try things, opportunities to work together. I think the continuity with Marco, as opposed to introducing someone new in that fourth car, has a lot of benefits," Edwards said (via RACER).

"So with him, and giving him a good opportunity, and he in working together with the regular three drivers, should help us get the result that we obviously want to get there," Edwards added.

The 109th running of the Indy 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 25, and Marco Andretti will be back in open-wheel racing action at 10:00 am ET.