The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating yet another close call involving a passenger jet and a military helicopter at a U.S. airport.
On Tuesday night, a Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter crossed in front of a United Airlines flight during its final approach at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, with radar data showing the chopper and Boeing 737 being separated by just 525 feet vertically and 1,422.43 feet (about a quarter-mile) when crossing paths.
"They saw the helicopter and also received a traffic alert, which they responded to by leveling the aircraft. The United flight then landed safely," United said in a statement.
According to the California National Guard, the helicopter was conducting a "routine training mission" and was en route to Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, traveling "along an established Visual Flight Rules route at an assigned altitude while in communication with air traffic control."
"A thorough review will be conducted in coordination with the appropriate agencies," the National Guard confirmed.
The incident comes just days after the FAA announced a new safety measure that suspends the use of visual separation between airplanes and helicopters and instead requires air traffic controllers to use radar to actively manage aircraft to keep them separated at specific lateral or vertical distances.
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