JetBlue flight nearly collides with small plane near NY airport

NEW YORK -- The FAA is investigating a near-midair collision between two planes by an airport north of New York City.

The FAA said in a statement that JetBlue Flight 94 had begun its descent into Westchester County Airport Sunday afternoon when its collision-warning system alerted pilots that a small plane was coming toward it.

JetBlue says its pilots' quick reaction averted a collision.

"The pilot reported the smaller aircraft in sight, received the alert, and then climbed in response to the alert," the FAA said in the statement. "The general aviation flight was operating under visual flight rules, and was not required to communicate with air traffic controllers."

A passenger, Megan Sikorski, tells WABC-TV that as the JetBlue plane shot upward in a defensive maneuver, she could hear the "whoosh" of the small plane beneath it.

Sikorski says she buried herself in her mother's lap and clutched another passenger.

When the JetBlue plane landed, Sikorski and her mother say the pilots seemed shaken and announced that someone had been "joyriding" in their airspace.

The FAA said the flight was an Airbus A320 aircraft that took off from Orlando International Airport in Florida.