FAA investigating close call between United Airlines plane and Black Hawk helicopter in California
By Alexandra Skores, CNN
Washington (CNN) — The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a US Army National Guard helicopter crossed in front of a passenger jet landing at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, the agency said in a statement.
On Tuesday evening, United Airlines Flight 589 from San Francisco was preparing to land at the Orange County airport when a collision avoidance alarm sounded in the cockpit.
The warning was triggered by the California National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk, flying under the callsign Knife 25.
According to FlightRadar24, the aircraft were 525 feet apart vertically and 1,422 feet laterally at their closest point.
During final approach, according to United, the pilots of the Boeing 737 were advised by air traffic control “to watch out for a military helicopter flying near the airport.”
After the alarm sounded, the pilots stopped descending and leveled off until they were passed the helicopter and could land safely.
“We’re gonna be addressing that, because that was not good,” an air traffic controller said in audio recorded by LiveATC.net.
The California National Guard said the helicopter involved was on a routine training mission and flying back to its home base.
“The aircraft was returning to Los Alamitos airfield along an established Visual Flight Rules (VFR) route at an assigned altitude while in communication with air traffic control,” a statement noted. “A thorough review will be conducted in coordination with the appropriate agencies.”
In January 2025, a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission collided with an American Airlines regional jet while landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Sixty-seven people were killed in what was the worst aviation disaster in the US in almost 20 years.
The investigation concluded the FAA’s placement of a helicopter route near a runway approach path caused the incident, and noted a number of systemic failures.
Earlier this month, the FAA published an order requiring air traffic controllers to use radar to actively track helicopters when flying through the flight paths of planes taking off and landing at busy airports.
Chopper pilots had been allowed to take responsibility for visual separation with other aircraft in these areas – a process called “see and avoid” – but a series of recent close calls drew scrutiny to the process.
During one incident earlier this month cited by the FAA, a helicopter on a converging course with a twin engine Beechcraft 99 at Hollywood Burbank Airport had to turn to avoid the private plane.
The-CNN-Wire
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