U.S. aviation officials investigate helicopter, passenger plane incident in California

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a near miss involving a U.S. Army National Guard helicopter and a passenger jet approaching John Wayne Airport in California, U.S. media reported Thursday.

On Tuesday evening, the passenger plane 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, said a CNN report.

The Boeing 737, with 162 passengers and six crew members on board, was forced to level off to respond to the emergency.

On Jan. 29, 2025, an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet collided mid-air near an airport in Washington, marking the deadliest air accident in the city since 1982.

In late January this year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) blamed "deep, underlying systemic failures" for the deadly midair collision as it released findings after a yearlong investigation.

Meanwhile, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy harshly criticized the FAA for failing to act on concerns raised by air traffic controllers at the airport, despite receiving reports of more than 80 serious close calls in recent years between helicopters and passenger aircraft.