A Delta airlines pilot was forced to make an “aggressive” evasive manoeuvre to avoid a potential mid-air collision with a US military aircraft before landing in North Dakota.
The pilot, who identified the aircraft as a B-52 bomber, is heard in video recordings shared on social media saying it was “kind of, sort of coming at us”. “So, sorry about the aggressive manoeuvre,” he says.
Delta Air Lines regional jet SkyWest Flight 3788 was en route from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Minot, North Dakota on Friday, the airline said.
“We took a really hard right turn, we were completely sideways,” Monica Green, a woman on the flight who recorded the audio told the BBC. “I was facing the grass.”
“We had no idea what was going on, we didn’t know if there was anything wrong with the plane or if the sharp turns would continue,” Ms Green said.
As soon as the plane became level again, the passengers went quiet, she said.
The aircraft landed safely “after being cleared for approach” but “performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path”, the SkyWest airlines said in a statement.
After the plane landed, the pilot came out from the cockpit and explained to the passengers that the tower instructed him to turn right but that when he looked over, he saw a B-52 bomber.
At that point he was instructed to turn left but said he looked over and “saw the airplane that was kind of coming on a converging course with us”.
The pilot told the passengers that the other aircraft was moving faster than the SkyWest plane, so he made the decision to turn behind it.
“It caught me by surprise,” he said. “This is not normal at all. I don’t know why they didn’t give us a heads up.”
He concluded his message with an apology: “Long story short, it was not fun, but I do apologize for it – and thank you for understanding.” Passengers responded with applause, the video shows.
SkyWest Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident.
