A Delta pilot was forced to make an “aggressive maneuver” to avoid a mid-air collision with a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber over North Dakota.
Flight DL3788, an Embraer E175 Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines, was traveling from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Minot International Airport when it faced the close call during the 1.5-hour journey Friday night, Aviation Source News reported.
The plane was in the latter stages of a descent when the USAF B-52 Stratofortress bomber from Minot Air Force Base (MIB) was spotted.
“In front of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the airplane sort of coming at us. Nobody told us about it, and so we continued,” the jet pilot told passengers in an announcement later shared on social media.
The pilot explained that the airplane was solely reliant on the control tower for instructions, but even their instructions weren’t clear.
“I think he realised that the spacing wasn’t going to work, and he said ‘turn right’, and I looked over and there was an airplane that was supposedly on the right-hand side,” the pilot copntinued.
He told passengers that initially, he thought the bomber was just a “small airplane,” but said he was forced to act hastily to avoid the jet.
“I looked over and saw the airplane that was kind of coming on a converging course with us,” he said. “So, given his speed, it was a military [...] I don’t know how fast they were going, but it was a lot faster than us, I felt it was the safest thing to do to turn behind it,” he said.
“So sorry about the aggressive maneuver. It caught me by surprise. This is not normal at all.”
He added, “I don’t know why they didn’t give us a heads up because the airport base does have radar, and nobody said, ‘Hey, there’s a B-52 in the pattern.”
“Long story short, it was not fun, but I do apologize for it,” the pilot said as passengers applauded.
In a statement to the New York Post, a SkyWest spokesperson said: “SkyWest flight 3788, operating as Delta Connection from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Minot, North Dakota on July 18, landed safely in Minot after being cleared for approach by the tower but performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path. We are investigating the incident.”
The same day, another Delta Airlines flight was forced to turn back to its departing airport after one of the engines erupted into flames.
The Delta flight 446 took off from Los Angeles International Airport but was forced to return and make a safe landing at around 2.10 p.m., said the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Independent contacted Delta Airlines, the U.S. Air Force, and the FAA for comment.
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