A horrifying incident occurred aboard a Delta Connection flight travelling from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Minot International Airport in North Dakota 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 on Saturday evening.
The SkyWest Airlines aircraft was operating under Delta Airlines connection services when the Embraer E175 jet came perilously close to striking the B-52 Stratofortress from Minot Air Force Base during the 90-minute journey.
The SkyWest Airlines pilot carried out the manoeuvre to prevent crashing into the bomber, which crew and passengers could allegedly observe through their windows, according to Aviation A2Z.
Travellers aboard the aircraft described the atmosphere as “weirdly calm” whilst the jet executed a series of sudden sharp banking movements.
“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.”
Green commended the pilot for his swift response and for delivering a comprehensive explanation to passengers immediately after the incident, noting that she could detect from his tone that he was visibly shaken: “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 captain announced to passengers through the aircraft’s tannoy that he had been directed by Air Traffic Control to alter course due to insufficient distance from another aircraft ahead on the landing approach.
He clarified that there had been no advance notification of military aviation activity in the vicinity – which he noted was extremely uncommon given Minot Air Force Base’s radar systems – and swiftly decided the most secure option was to position the aircraft behind the bomber, according to Aviation A2Z.
After the aircraft touched down without incident, grateful passengers expressed appreciation to the captain for his openness throughout the journey. The commercial airliner was a Delta Connection regional aircraft operated by SkyWest Airlines, Aviation A2Z reported.
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 to The New York Post on Sunday.
