…… passenger jet, helicopter came closer than allowed over northern Ohio.

By Zach Vasile

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is sending a team to investigate a loss of separation event involving a passenger aircraft and a medical transport helicopter.

In a statement, the agency said a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and a Eurocopter helicopter came closer to each other than the required minimum safe distance near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Ohio last Wednesday.

Reuters reported Sunday that the 737 was flying to Cleveland from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Maryland.

The Southwest flight had to abort its attempted landing and circled the airport before making another approach. Both aircraft landed safely.

Neither the NTSB nor Southwest has disclosed the number of passengers or crew on the 737.

The airline said in a statement that it “appreciates the professionalism of our crew in responding to the situation” and will support the NTSB’s investigation into the incident.

Public awareness of close calls between passenger aircraft and helicopters has grown considerably since the January collision of an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C., which killed a combined 67 people. The NTSB is investigating the crash and held its first public hearings on the matter in July and August.