Air Force 1 Avoids Airplane Near LAX

A small commuter plane that threatened to come too close to Air Force One prompted the president’s plane to alter its landing approach to Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday evening, officials said.

The two planes never violated the required 1,000-foot vertical separation, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Hank Price said.

“This was not a near-miss by any calculation,” said White House press secretary Joe Lockhart. He said President Clinton, who was aboard, was never in danger.

Air Force One’s traffic collision avoidance system alerted the pilot that the Skywest commuter plane was ascending to 9,000 feet while Air Force One was descending to 10,000 feet, Price said. The president’s pilot climbed 300 feet and then made an uneventful landing.