Michelle Obama's Plane Forced to Abort Landing Due to Mistake

April 19, 2011 -- First lady Michelle Obama's plane had to abort its landing at Joint Base Andrews after it came closer to another military jet than it should have, officials said.

Air traffic controllers apparently allowed the planes to get too close to each other. The required separation is five miles apart, but controllers allowed the first lady's Boeing 737 to get within three miles of the giant C-17 military cargo plane, Federal Aviation Administration sources told ABC News.

The distance is important because large planes generate wake turbulence, rough air that can dangerously disrupt planes behind them. A government official told ABC News that the military plane had not cleared the runway as Michelle Obama's plane approached.

Air traffic controllers at the approach control facility in the Washington, D.C. area were handling Obama's plane, dubbed Executive One Foxtrot. They told the plane's pilot to do a standard go-around and circle for an additional time to create the appropriate distance, which they did.

Even after the cargo plane landed, though, the controllers were reportedly still worried that they wouldn't be able to clear the runaway in time for Obama's jet and asked the pilots to loop around the airport one more time. A source says nobody aboard the plane was aware of anything out of the ordinary.

There was no panic caused by the incident and no emergency vehicles were called in. Sources tell ABC News no one on the plane, including the first lady, were aware of the delay or the high-sky maneuvers.

"FAA controllers at Andrews Air Force Base instructed an incoming Boeing 737 on approach to Runway 19 to perform a 'go around' on Monday, April 18, 2011 just after 5 p.m. because the plane did not have the required amount of separation behind a military C17," the FAA said in a statement. "The FAA is investigating the incident. The Boeing 737 landed safely after executing the go around. The aircraft were never in any danger."

The first lady was returning to Washington, D.C., from New York, where she appeared on "The View" with Jill Biden and attended other events Monday.