A California Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crossed directly in front of a United Airlines Boeing 737-800 passenger jet on final approach to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, prompting a collision avoidance alert and evasive action by the jet's pilots.

United Flight 589, which had departed San Francisco International Airport, carried 162 passengers and six crew members. The jet was preparing to land at the busy Santa Ana airport when air traffic controllers warned the pilots to watch for a military helicopter operating nearby.

The Black Hawk, operating under the callsign Knife 25 from Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, was returning from a routine training mission along an established visual flight rules corridor. It was in communication with air traffic control at the assigned altitude. Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the aircraft were approximately 525 feet apart vertically and 1,422 feet laterally at their closest approach, or about a half-mile horizontally.

United pilots spotted the helicopter and received a traffic collision avoidance system resolution advisory, which instructed them to level off. They complied, maintaining separation until the Black Hawk passed, then continued the approach and landed safely around 8:49 p.m. An air traffic controller remarked on recorded audio, "We're going to be addressing that, because that was not good."

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the close call and launched an investigation into whether controllers adhered to a new policy prohibiting visual "see-and-avoid" separation between helicopters and airliners at major airports. The rule, implemented earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Transportation, mandates radar-based separation following a January 2025 midair collision near Reagan Washington National Airport that killed 67 people aboard an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk.

The California Army National Guard stated it would conduct a thorough review in coordination with relevant agencies. United Airlines reported that its crew followed all procedures. No injuries were reported, and both aircraft landed without further incident.

This near miss highlights ongoing concerns about military helicopter operations near civilian airspace. Recent similar events include converging paths between a Beechcraft and a helicopter at Hollywood Burbank Airport earlier in March and an American Airlines flight and a police helicopter at San Antonio International last month, both resolved by evasive maneuvers.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford emphasized proactive risk mitigation in a statement on the policy change. The agency continues to scrutinize such incidents amid heightened scrutiny following the 2025 fatality.