US airliner moved ‘aggressively’ to avoid collision with B-52 bomber
The July 18 incident, involving a SkyWest-operated Delta jet near a North Dakota US Air Force base, is under investigation
A Delta Air Lines jet was forced to abort landing to avoid a mid-air collision with a B-52 bomber in North Dakota last week, a go-around manoeuvre described as “aggressive” by ABC News, citing the pilot.
The July 18 incident was being investigated, SkyWest, which operated Delta flight 3788, said in a statement to Bloomberg News. The pilot apologised to passengers after landing, ABC said in a report Sunday, citing a recording of remarks by the pilot, who it did not identify.
The near-miss comes at a time air safety in the US is under intense scrutiny. With a chronic shortage of controllers, breakdowns of air traffic systems, and the fatal crash involving an American Air regional jet with a US Army helicopter, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has pledged an overhaul to boost safety.
The SkyWest-operated Delta jet had departed from Minneapolis on Friday evening and was on approach to Minot Airport, North Dakota, which is located approximately 18km (11.2 miles) south of a US Air Force base. The military airfield is home to 26 B-52 bombers and almost 13,000 personnel, dependents, and civilians on-site.
The pilots were cleared to land by an air traffic controller, but they executed a go-around manoeuvre, SkyWest said.