Latest news with #midaircollision
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
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'
A Delta pilot said he avoided a crash with a B-52 bomber after executing an "aggressive maneuver." 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. Read the original article on Business Insider
Russia Today
a day ago
- General
- Russia Today
US passenger plane avoids collision with bomber (AUDIO)
The pilot of a US regional flight had to make 'an aggressive maneuver' to avoid a mid-air collision with a B-52 bomber in North Dakota on Friday, according to a recording of an announcement to passengers published on social media. A Delta Airlines flight operated by SkyWest was on final approach to Minot, North Dakota, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, when a B-52 Stratofortress from a nearby Air Force Base appeared without warning. 'Sorry about the aggressive maneuver,' the captain told passengers after the landing on Friday in a video posted on Instagram. The pilot said he saw a plane 'coming on a convergent course' too fast on his right side, while the Minot airport control tower was giving instructions visually without radar. 'You probably saw the airplane sort of coming at us from the right,' he explained. Considering its speed it was a military aircraft, he added. 'I felt it was the safest thing to do to turn behind it,' the pilot told the passengers. The captain noted that the B-52's home base had radar, expressing confusion over why the crew was not given advance warning. Passenger Monica Green, who recorded the pilot's post-landing remarks, told the New York Times that the plane banked so sharply that her window view shifted from the sky to the ground. All 76 passengers and four crew members landed safely, SkyWest US Air Force acknowledged that a B-52 from Minot base conducted an approved flyover for the North Dakota state fair Friday evening. The base stated 'the airport did not advise of the inbound commercial aircraft,' according to ABC News. Both SkyWest, and the Federal Aviation Administration said in their statements that they were investigating what happened. Friday's near collision between a military and civilian aircraft follows a deadly incident in January when a military Black Hawk helicopter collided with American Airlines Flight 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. All 64 people aboard the plane and three on the helicopter were killed.
RNZ News
a day ago
- General
- RNZ News
US authorities probing airliner's close call with B-52 bomber
A US Air Force B-52 bomber. (File image) Photo: AFP / Robert Atanasovski US aviation regulators say they are investigating a recent close call in which a passenger plane took emergency action to avoid a mid-air collision with a US military bomber. A Delta flight operated by SkyWest took off Friday from Minneapolis and was approaching the city of Minot, North Dakota when the pilot rapidly rerouted after seeing another aircraft nearing from the right. "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 told passengers, according to recorded audio of the commercial pilot. "Sorry about the aggressive manoeuvre," he said. "This is not normal at all." The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that US officials are "investigating the event involving SkyWest Airlines Flight 3788 at Minot International Airport on Friday, July 18". SkyWest said it has also begun a probe. The flight was cleared for approach by the tower "but performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path," the carrier said in a statement reported by US media. The US Air Force base near Minot confirmed in a statement that a B-52 bomber performed an approved flyover Friday night at the North Dakota State Fair, and said the crew was communicating with air traffic controllers at Minot's commercial airport. "The B-52 crew contacted Minot International Airport tower and the tower provided instructions to continue two miles westbound after the flyover. The tower did not advise of the inbound commercial aircraft," it said. It provided no further details about the near miss. The northern city, about 50 miles (80 kilometres) from the Canada border, is home to a commercial airport and a US Air Force base. In a passenger video posted to Instagram and verified by Storyful, the SkyWest pilot told passengers he was not made aware about the B-52. He said the Minot tower, which does not use radar - a common situation in smaller, more remote airfields in the United States - offered guidance that could have put the passenger jet in jeopardy. "He said 'Turn right.' I said there's an airplane over there. And he says 'Turn left,'" the pilot said. "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,'" he said. The passenger who recorded the video, Monica Green, said she was "sick to my stomach" about the near miss. Green, quoted by NBC News, said she felt the jet take a hard turn and then "I just remember the plane going, like, sideways... and just looking straight out the window and just seeing grass" with no visible skyline. The incident comes less than six months after a US Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet approaching Washington's Reagan National Airport, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft. The disaster prompted federal authorities and Congress to review coordination between military and civilian aircraft flying in the same airspace. - AFP
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
US passenger jet has close call with B-52 bomber
The Delta flight, operated by SkyWest, took off from Minneapolis. (Getty Images/AFP pic) WASHINGTON : A passenger jet performed an 'aggressive manoeuvre' to avoid a mid-air collision with a US military bomber over the state of North Dakota, according to recorded audio of the commercial pilot. Delta Flight 3788, operated by SkyWest, took off from Minneapolis and was approaching the city of Minot when the pilot rapidly rerouted after seeing another aircraft nearing from the right. '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 told passengers. 'Sorry about the aggressive manoeuvre. It caught me by surprise, this is not normal at all.' SkyWest was investigating the Friday incident. The flight was cleared for approach by the tower 'but performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path', the carrier said in a statement reported by US media. The US air force did not provide specifics about the near miss but confirmed in a statement reported by the Washington Post that a B-52 bomber was performing a flyover at the North Dakota state fair, which occurred in Minot. The northern city, about 80km from the Canada border, is home to a commercial airport and a US air force base. In the video, posted to Instagram and verified by Storyful, the SkyWest pilot told passengers that 'nobody told us' about the other plane. He said the Minot tower, which does not use radar – a common situation in smaller, more remote airfields in the US – offered guidance that could have put the passenger jet in jeopardy. 'He said 'Turn right.' I said there's an airplane over there. And he says 'Turn left,'' the pilot said according to the video. The incident comes less than six months after a US army helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet approaching Washington's Reagan National Airport, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft. The disaster prompted federal authorities and congress to review coordination between military and civilian aircraft flying in the same airspace.
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
US authorities probing airliner's close call with B-52 bomber
US aviation regulators said Monday they are investigating a recent close call in which a passenger plane took emergency action to avoid a mid-air collision with a US military bomber. A Delta flight operated by SkyWest took off Friday from Minneapolis and was approaching the city of Minot, North Dakota, when the pilot rapidly rerouted after seeing another aircraft approaching from the right. '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 told passengers, according to recorded audio. 'Sorry about the aggressive maneuver,' he added. 'This is not normal at all.' The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that US officials are 'investigating the event involving SkyWest Airlines Flight 3788 at Minot International Airport on Friday, July 18.' SkyWest said it has also launched a probe. The flight had been cleared for approach by the control tower 'but performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path,' the airline said in a statement reported by US media. The nearby US Air Force base confirmed in a statement that a B-52 bomber had performed an approved flyover Friday night at the North Dakota State Fair and said the crew was communicating with air traffic controllers at Minot's commercial airport. 'The B-52 crew contacted Minot International Airport tower and the tower provided instructions to continue two miles westbound after the flyover. The tower did not advise of the inbound commercial aircraft,' the Air Force said. It offered no further details about the near miss. Minot, about 50 miles from the Canadian border, is home to both a commercial airport and a US Air Force base. In a passenger video posted to Instagram and verified by Storyful, the SkyWest pilot told passengers he was not informed of the B-52's presence. He said the Minot tower, which does not use radar—a common situation at smaller US airfields—gave him conflicting instructions that could have put the aircraft in danger. 'He said 'Turn right.' I said there's an airplane over there. And he says 'Turn left,'' the pilot said. '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.'' The passenger who filmed the video, Monica Green, said she was 'sick to my stomach' about the near collision. Green, quoted by NBC News, said she felt the jet veer sharply. 'I just remember the plane going, like, sideways… and just looking straight out the window and just seeing grass,' she said, describing a moment with no visible skyline. The incident comes less than six months after a US Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet near Washington's Reagan National Airport, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft. That disaster prompted federal authorities and Congress to review protocols governing coordination between military and civilian aircraft in shared airspace.
