A commercial flight’s close call with a B-52 military aircraft during a mid-air encounter in North Dakota on Friday ended in a safe landing thanks to a SkyWest pilot’s swift action.
Despite being cleared for approach by the Minot International Airport’s radio tower, a SkyWest pilot was forced to perform an emergency go-around after its flight path appeared to converge with a B-52 bomber. Eventually, SkyWest flight 3788, with 76 passengers and four crew members, safely landed.
The SkyWest pilot slammed the Air Force for not giving “a heads-up,” as he apologized for having to perform an “aggressive maneuver” to avoid the military aircraft during comments to passengers after the incident, per CBS News. The pilot noted that while Minot International Airport does not have radar, doing everything from its tower visually, the Air Force does have the technology, which he suggested should have prevented the close call.
“Given his speed, it was a military — I don’t know how fast they were going, but they were a lot faster than us. I felt it was the safest thing to do to turn behind it,” he said.
The FAA announced it would investigate the incident in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner.
“The FAA is investigating the event involving SkyWest Airlines Flight 3788 at Minot International Airport on Friday, July 18,” the statement read. “Air traffic services were provided by the Minot air traffic control tower, which is run by a private company. These controllers are not FAA employees.”
“It caught me by surprise. This is not normal at all,” the commercial pilot said at the time. “I don’t know why they didn’t give us a heads-up because the Air Force base does have radar, and nobody said, ‘Hey, there’s also a B-52 in the pattern.’ Long story short, it was not fun, but I do apologize for it, and thank you for understanding. It was kind of not a fun day at work for me.”
The Washington Examiner contacted the Air Force for comment on the incident.
The near-accident in North Dakota comes after a similar situation in Washington, D.C., had a deadly ending, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft.
The collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet in January near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport sparked federal investigations and plans to implement sweeping reforms to the country’s air traffic control system.
Amid Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s push for modernization, aviation and airport incidents across the country, including at Newark Liberty International Airport, continue to stoke concerns about flight safety.
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