A United Airlines jet triggered a midair collision alert while passing dangerously close to a military helicopter near Southern California. Federal investigators are now working to determine the severity of the situation.
During final approach to John Wayne Airport on March 24 in Orange County, pilots on United Airlines Flight 589 were advised by air traffic control to watch for a military helicopter flying near the airport. They saw the helicopter and also received a traffic alert, which they responded to by leveling the aircraft before landing safely, according to a statement provided by the airline to Military.com.
United said the flight was operated by a Boeing 737-800 carrying 162 passengers and six crew members.
The incident unfolded near John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, a medium-sized Southern California airport that serves more than 10 million passengers a year and sits in dense coastal airspace south of Los Angeles.
Nearby installations including Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and Naval Air Station North Island support frequent helicopter operations along the coast, increasing the likelihood of military aircraft sharing airspace with commercial traffic approaching Orange County airports.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Thursday that it is investigating the incident. Officials have not determined whether the event qualifies as a near midair collision or a loss of required separation, and the military has not publicly identified the helicopter or its mission.
Air traffic control audio captured the urgency of the moment.
“That was not good,” a controller said as the aircraft passed, according to archived recordings from LiveATC.net.
Preliminary flight tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the aircraft were separated by roughly 475 feet vertically and about half a mile horizontally at their closest point.
Military.com reached out for comment to the U.S. Department of Defense and regional military commands that operate in Southern California.
Critical Details Still Missing in Near Miss Probe
Investigators have not yet clarified several critical points that will determine how serious the encounter was and whether any safety rules were violated.
Chief among them is whether the incident meets the threshold for a near midair collision—a designation generally used when aircraft come within 500 feet vertically or pose an immediate collision risk. Officials also have not said whether required minimum separation standards were breached under FAA rules governing aircraft spacing in controlled airspace.
Key details about the military aircraft remain unknown, including which service branch operated the helicopter and what mission it was conducting at the time. That information is essential because military flights can operate under different procedures than commercial aircraft, depending on whether they are flying under visual flight rules or receiving separation services from air traffic control.
Those unanswered questions will determine whether the encounter is classified as a routine traffic conflict or a more serious breakdown in coordination between civilian controllers and military aviation.
Crowded Airspace, Little Margin for Error
Such encounters are uncommon but carry heightened risk, particularly during final approach when aircraft are at lower altitudes, speeds are changing and pilots have less room to maneuver.
That risk has drawn increased scrutiny in recent months. Federal regulators have moved to tighten how helicopters and airplanes are separated in congested airspace after a series of close calls as well as a deadly midair collision near Washington, D.C., that raised concerns about mixed military and civilian traffic operating in close proximity.
Investigators examining that crash found warnings about helicopter traffic near commercial flight paths had been raised for years before the collision, adding urgency to new incidents involving military aircraft near passenger jets.
The FAA has not provided a timeline for its findings. Additional details are expected as officials review radar data, cockpit alerts and controller instructions.
