Jet, small plane pass 'way too close' in air

updated 3:09 p.m. ET July 23, 2008

ONTARIO, Calif. - A jetliner and a small plane passed too close — less than a mile apart — in the skies near Ontario, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The westbound Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 on approach to Los Angeles International Airport at 11,900 feet and an Arizona-bound single-engine plane at 11,500 feet passed within seven-tenths of a mile at about 9:20 a.m. Tuesday.

"It was way too close," FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said. It "was a very serious situation."

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The small plane pilot acknowledged he made a wrong turn, Fergus said.

Records show the small plane is owned by Henderson, Nev.-based Tavelogic Enterprises LLC. The plane took off from Van Nuys Municipal Airport at 9:03 a.m. and landed in Tucson, Ariz., at 11:22 a.m.

There was no telephone listing for Tavelogic Enterprises.

Delta spokesman Anthony Black said the airline had not yet received information on the incident from its pilot and the FAA.

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