A military helicopter crossed in front of a United Airlines flight as the plane was coming in to land at an airport in California on Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The airline said the United pilots had been advised by air traffic controllers of the nearby Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter during final approach at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana.<\/p>\n
“They saw the helicopter, and also received a traffic alert, which they responded to by leveling the aircraft,” United said in a statement. “The United flight then landed safely.”<\/p>\n
Preliminary radar data from Flightradar24 shows that the two aircraft were separated by 525 feet vertically and just 1,422.43 feet — or 0.27 miles — when the helicopter crossed in front of the United plane.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Air](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/7dca898d-fafb-4f02-9106-1406790cbc6f\/john-wayne-airport-gty-jt-260326_1774552654869_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"Air")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>In this April 13, 2019, file photo, the John Wayne airport is shown in Santa Ana, Calif.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n STOCK PHOTO\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The incident occurred around 8:40 p.m. local time Tuesday, according to the FAA. The Boeing 737 with 168 people on board was traveling from San Francisco to Santa Ana at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n The FAA said it is investigating, “including whether a new measure to suspend the use of visual separation between airplanes and helicopters was applied.”<\/p>\n The National Transportation Safety Board said it is aware of the incident but did not have any additional details to share at this time.<\/p>\n The alert that the United pilots received is the most serious of the anti-collision alerts pilots can receive and requires immediate action. The alert tells the pilots exactly what to do to avoid the collision.<\/p>\n The close call occurred two days after\u00a0a regional Air Canada jet collided<\/a> into a Port Authority fire truck shortly upon landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing two pilots and injuring dozens of people.<\/p>\n Last year, an Army Black Hawk helicopter and\u00a0an American Airlines jet collided midair near Washington, D.C., as the jet was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport,\u00a0killing 67 people<\/a>. The NTSB determined<\/a> the probable cause was a series of systemic failures within the FAA and was 100% preventable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n