Passengers watch in terror as airline pilot forced to swerve bomber plane
A pilot had to make an "aggressive" move to avoid crashing after an US Air Force bomber came dangerously close to the passenger plane.
The frightening incident happened on a Delta Connection flight from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Minot International Airport in North Dakota on Saturday night when the pilot was compelled to execute an "aggressive" evasive manoeuvre to prevent a mid-air collision with a US Air Force B-52 bomber.
The SkyWest Airlines flight was operating under the Delta Airlines connection service. The Embraer E175 aircraft came perilously close to crashing into the B-52 Stratofortress from Minot Air Force Base during the 90-minute journey.
The SkyWest Airlines pilot carried out an "aggressive manoeuvre" to avoid smashing into the bomber, which crew and passengers reported seeing out of their their windows, Aviation A2Z reported.
Travellers on the aircraft described the atmosphere as "weirdly calm" as the plane executed a series of sudden sharp turns.
"I felt like I was gaslighting myself, like maybe I was being crazy, because no one else was reacting," passenger Monica Green told KFYR TV.
"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.
"The way he said it, it almost sounded like he was insinuating that landing safely might not be an option for a moment, reports the Mirror US.
"We all just kind of looked at each other and stayed quiet," she added.
Green commended the pilot for his swift response and for offering a thorough explanation to passengers straight after the incident, noting that she could detect from his tone that he was rattled.
"He was very casual, if you can be casual about something like that, but you could tell he was stressed. 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," Green said.
The pilot told passengers through the aircraft's tannoy system that Air Traffic Control had told him to alter course due to insufficient distance from another plane ahead on the landing approach.
He said there had been no advance notice of military aircraft activity in the vicinity - which he noted was extremely uncommon given Minot Air Force Base's radar systems - and decided the safest move was to position the aircraft behind the bomber, Aviation A2Z reports.
After the plane touched down without incident, grateful passengers praised the pilot for his openness throughout the journey.
'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,' SkyWest said in a statement.
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