A Delta pilot narrowly avoided a B-52 collision in North Dakota: 'I don't know why they didn't give us a heads up at all'
The Delta flight, which was operated by SkyWest, was headed toward North Dakota.
"It caught me by surprise, this is not normal at all," the pilot apologized to passengers.
A Delta regional flight traveling from Minneapolis to Minot avoided a mid-air collision with a US Air Force B-52 bomber on Friday.
The flight, which was operated by SkyWest Airlines as Delta Connection, was headed toward North Dakota when it encountered a B-52 bomber from Minot Air Force Base. It is unclear how close the two aircraft were to each other when the incident happened.
The pilot of SkyWest flight 3788 told passengers that the craft had managed to evade the B-52 after executing an "aggressive maneuver."
"I don't know how fast they were going, but they were a lot faster than us, I felt it was the safest thing to do to turn behind it," the pilot said while apologizing to passengers, per a recording of the conversation.
"It caught me by surprise, this is not normal at all. I don't know why they didn't give us a heads up, because the Air Force base does have radar," the pilot continued, adding that it was "not a fun day at work."
When approached for comment, Delta Air Lines referred Business Insider to SkyWest Airlines.
SkyWest said the flight was originally "cleared for approach by the tower but performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight." It added that the plane had landed safely in Minot and they are "investigating the incident."
A US Air Force spokesperson told BI in a statement that the B-52 had been conducting a flyover as part of a "special event recognizing the city of Minot as a 'Great American Defense Community.'"
"The flyover was planned in advance and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration," the spokesperson said
Crew members were in constant contact with "the FAA's local Flight Standards District Office, Minot International Airport air traffic control personnel, and Minot Approach Control" during the flyover, the statement added. It said that the airport's air traffic control personnel "did not advise of the inbound commercial aircraft."
The FAA said in a statement to BI on Monday that it is investigating the incident. It added that the airport's air traffic services were "run by a private company" and the "controllers are not FAA employees."
In January, an American Airlines flight collided with a UH-60 Black Hawk as it neared the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The collision killed all 67 people abroad the two aircraft.
Representatives for Minot Air Force Base did not respond to a request for comment from BI.
July 22, 1:30 a.m. — This story has been updated with statements from the US Air Force and the FAA.
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