A PILOT was forced to pull off an “aggressive” move to avoid a catastrophic midair collision with an Air Force B-52 bomber.
The Delta regional jet was nearing its destination in Minot, North Dakota, when it almost had a dangerous encounter with the Stratofortress. The event occurred during a 90-minute flight.
The pilot of the Embraer E175 jet performed an “aggressive maneuver” to avoid the rapid incoming bomber.
Crew members as well as well as passengers on the right side of the jet could be seen from their windows, Aviation A2Z reports.
Passengers traveling from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Minot International Airport in North Dakota described the plane’s atmosphere as “weirdly calm,” noting it made several sudden and sharp turns.
Passenger Monica Green shared her experience with KFYR TV, saying, “I questioned my own sanity, feeling like I was overreacting, because no one else seemed to be disturbed.”
“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.
“We all just kind of looked at each other and stayed quiet.”
She went on to praise the pilot for then going into detail on what actually happened – and could tell he was shaken by the horror ordeal by his voice.
Monica added: “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.”
The pilot told confused passengers that he had received instructions from air traffic controllers to change the aircraft’s direction due to inadequate separation from a preceding aircraft on the approach path.
He went on to say that he had no prior warning of military air traffic and swiftly decided the safest option was to turn the plane behind the bomber, KFYR TV reports.
After explaining the terrifying situation, the pilot received praise and thanks from grateful passengers for his transparency in the near-miss.
The B-52 bomber had come from Minot Air Force Base, which houses the 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing along with a large number of US Air Force equipment and vehicles.
The affected passenger plane was a Delta Connection regional jet that was being operated by SkyWest Airlines.
SkyWest said in a statement: “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.”
