How Delta jet avoided mid-air collision with military B-52 bomber

Daily Mail​

5 days ago

This is the moment terrified Delta passengers learned their pilot quickly swerved the aircraft to avoid a catastrophic mid-air collision with a military B-52 bomber. Delta Flight 3788 was nearing the end of its 90-minute journey from Minneapolis to North Dakota's Minot International Airport on Friday night when the pilot suddenly made a series of sharp, unexpected turns. The passenger jet climbed abruptly before circling the area and returning for a safe landing, flight tracking data reveals.
But the 'aggressive maneuver' startled passengers and crew who were unaware at the time that the plane had come terrifyingly close to crashing into a massive B-52 Stratofortress flying out of Minot Air Force Base. After landing, the pilot addressed his terrified passengers, revealing how air traffic control had instructed an abrupt course change due to inadequate separation from another aircraft on the approach path. 'For those of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the airplane kind of sort of coming at us. Nobody told us about it, and so we continued,' he explained over the public announcement system.
He explained how there is no radar at Minot Airport so air traffic control has to 'visually' check that aircraft have enough clearance. He alleged he received no prior warning about nearby military air traffic and, having to act fast, decided the safest move was to abruptly swerve behind the bomber. Air traffic control informed the pilot to turn right because the spacing between Delta Flight 3788 and the jet ahead of it was too small.
'Um, and I looked over and there was an airplane, which those of you on the right-hand side, I thought it was a small airplane,' the pilot told the passengers in footage captured by passenger Monica Green. 'He [air traffic control] said, 'Turn right.' I said, 'There's an airplane over there.' And he says, 'Turn left.' And that by the time we read back to clearance, looked over and saw the airplane that was kind of coming on a converging course with us.' He also collectedly explained that he initially thought the approaching aircraft was a small plane - but it turned out to be a massive military jet.
The pilot said he did not know how fast the bomber was flying but knew 'they were a lot faster than us' and 'felt it was the safest thing to do to turn behind it'. Despite the seriousness of what he was describing, his tone remained steady and composed throughout, just like it was just another day in the air. '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 Air Force base does have radar, and nobody said, 'Hey, there's also a B-52 in the pattern'.
'Long story short, it was not fun, but I do apologize for it, and thank you for understanding. Not a fun day at work.' Once he finished addressing the passengers, the footage captured a wave of applause - an outpouring of relief from people who suddenly realized how close they had come to danger just moments before. Exactly how close the two aircraft came remains unknown, as does whether any cockpit warning systems were triggered during the near miss, according to ABC News.
The pilot's quick thinking aboard Flight DL3788 - an Embraer E175 operated by SkyWest - may have saved hundreds of lives, despite unsettling passengers. As the pilot sharply swerved through the air to avoid disaster, passengers described the atmosphere onboard as 'weirdly calm,' despite the sudden and evasive maneuvers. 'Being in the very front row, you feel everything, and those hard turns, you could tell something wasn't right,' Green told KMOT News . The flight circled Minot Airport several times before finally landing, with passengers sensing the rising tension among the crew.
Some, including Green, quietly began texting loved ones - internally panicking as the gravity of the situation set in. 'We took a really hard turn, and that's when the pilot got on the intercom and said, 'sorry everybody, I'll explain everything when we land safely,'' Green told KMOT. 'The way he said it, it almost sounded like he was insinuating that landing safely might not be an option for a moment,' she added. 'We all just kind of looked at each other and stayed quiet.'
Green, who has a sizable Instagram following, shared a clip of the pilot's in-flight explanation to her platform, praising his expertise in the caption and thanking him for keeping everyone safe. 'He was very casual,' Green explained, describing the pilot's demeanor. 'If you can be casual about something like that.' 'But you could tell he was stressed,' she added. 'He was almost shaking, trying to find the right words, but he was nice and detailed. It felt good that they weren't just going to brush it off.' Although Green couldn't see the bomber from her seat, she later overheard tense conversations in the small airport terminal - passengers and crew quietly discussing just how close the collision had actually been.
'When we landed, it was really quiet. No one stood up right away like people normally do,' she told KMOT. 'At the airport, I heard some people saying their friends saw it from the ground. The other plane nearly hit us, and it went so low it passed under us.' SkyWest has since launched an investigation into the incident, a spokesperson told ABC in a statement. 'SkyWest flight 3788, operating as Delta Connection from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Minot, North Dakota, 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,' the statement read. 'We are investigating the incident.' Daily Mail has reached out to Delta and Minot Air Force Base for comment.