The State - News from Sept. 23, 1986

Records show at least 41 near collisions by aircraft flying over the central San Joaquin Valley in the last five years, more than half of them involving military planes near Castle Air Force Base. The close calls involved 23 military planes near Castle, the Strategic Air Command training base in Merced County, according to Federal Aviation Administration records obtained by the Fresno Bee. Two such incidents involved military planes of the types stationed at Lemoore Naval Air Station. Two near misses involved airliners, and most of the rest involved light civilian planes, the records show. Most of the near misses were considered hazardous, with the planes between 100 and 500 feet apart. However, 10 were listed as critical--less than 100 feet apart.