FAA investigating close call between plane registered to flight school and JetBlue passenger jet near Fort Lauderdale | CNN

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a close call between a flight school-owned Beechcraft 76 plane and a JetBlue Airways passenger jet that came within 500 feet of one another on Monday. The close call happened around 6:15 p.m. near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as JetBlue Flight 1256 was approaching for landing. JetBlue pilots received “an onboard alert that another aircraft was nearby and not in communications with air traffic control,” the FAA said. A controller alerted pilots on Flight 1256 of the aircraft nearby, according to air traffic control audio captured by ATC.com. The Beechcraft 76 was registered to Sun City Aviation LLC, FAA records show. CNN has reached out to Sun City Aviation and JetBlue for comment. “Yeah, they’re turning toward us,” one pilot in the cockpit of the JetBlue aircraft can be heard saying on the ATC.com recording. “I see them also descending,” the controller replied. “Yup, they are southwest bound, JetBlue 1256. They appear to be leveling at 4,400 feet now.” The two planes came within 500 feet vertically of one another and approximately 1.6 miles horizontally, data from FlightRadar24 shows. Pilots t