The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a near-miss between a passenger Delta flight and a B-52 bomber over North Dakota.
“The FAA is investigating the event involving SkyWest Airlines Flight 3788 at Minot International Airport on Friday, July 18,” a spokesperson for the agency told NOTUS on Monday. “Air traffic services were provided by the Minot air traffic control tower, which is run by a private company. These controllers are not FAA employees.”
The flight, a connecting flight for Delta Air Lines, had taken off from Minneapolis and was cleared for landing in Minot, North Dakota, on Friday until its pilot suddenly had to change course. The flight eventually landed safely.
“I’m sorry about the aggressive maneuver. It caught me by surprise. This is not normal at all,” the pilot explained, according to a passenger video posted to Instagram. “I don’t know why they didn’t give us a head’s 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.”
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The Department of Defense did not respond to NOTUS’ request for comment.
SkyWest Airlines, which operates the regional flight involved, is investigating the incident and in a statement to NOTUS said the flight “performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path.”
Delta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Air Force officials did not provide full details but confirmed to The Washington Post over the weekend that a B-52 bomber was performing a flyover at the North Dakota State Fair in Minot, North Dakota.
The incident comes after a collision earlier this year between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and passenger jet that killed nearly 70 people. That, combined with other recent flight safety incidents, have raised questions about the safety of flying.
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