The pilot of a passenger jet landing in North Dakota on Friday made an “aggressive maneuver” in order to avoid collision with an Air Force B-52.
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday’s incident prompted an investigation, per The Washington Post.
SkyWest Flight 3788 was operating as a Delta Connection flight between Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Minot, North Dakota, when the incident occurred, reported CNN.
What happened?
The pilot had been cleared by the air traffic control tower for landing when another aircraft became visible in its flight path, causing the pilot to perform a “go-around,” SkyWest said in a statement according to The Washington Post.
After the maneuver, the plane was able to land safely in Minot, per CNN.
The airline is also investigating the incident.
According to NBC, the Air Force confirmed that a B-52 aircraft had conducted a flyover of the North Dakota State Fair on Friday. The aircraft was assigned to the Minot Air Force Base.
“We are currently looking into the matter,” the Air Force said, per NBC.
What the pilot said about the incident
After the plane landed, the pilot apologized for making an “aggressive maneuver” and explained what had happened, per The Washington Post.
He added that “nobody told us” about the other aircraft.
The pilot said that after being cleared for landing, he was instructed to turn left but looked over and “saw the airplane that was kind of coming on a converging course with us,” per BBC.
He told passengers that he made the decision to turn behind the other aircraft because it was moving faster than the SkyWest flight.
“It caught me by surprise,” he said, per BBC. “This is not normal at all. I don’t know why they didn’t give us a heads up.”
“Long story short, it was not fun, but I do apologize for it — and thank you for understanding,” he concluded, per BBC. Passengers reportedly responded with applause.
What is a B-52?
According to CNN, the B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The massive aircraft has eight jet engines and a wingspan of around 185 feet.
The B-52 is able to fly at high subsonic speeds at altitudes as high as 50,000 feet and can carry “nuclear or precision guided conventional ordnance with worldwide precision navigation capability.”
The SkyWest plane is a 70-seat Embraer 175 regional jet that is half as wide as a B-52 and can take off with less than one-fifth the weight that a B-52 can, per CNN.
Similar incidents in recent years
Since the Jan. 29 incident where an Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet in Washington D.C., there has been an intense focus on military traffic near civilian airplanes, per NBC.
The FAA and the NTSB are investigating another close call that occurred on March 28, involving a Delta jet and group of Air Force jets near Reagan National Airport.
Another incident occurred in early May, causing the FAA to ban Army helicopter flights around the Pentagon, per NBC.
