A pilot flying a Delta Air Lines regional jet apologized to his passengers after making a hard turn to avoid colliding with a US Air Force B-52 bomber, audio from the incident shows.
The incident took place on July 18, according to the airline. The flight, operated by SkyWest, has departed from Minneapolis. Once on the ground, the pilot apologized to passengers for the abrupt move and explained the situation. The incident occurred on SkyWest Flight 3788, which was operating as a Delta Connection flight, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Minot, North Dakota, SkyWest stated in a statement.
The flight 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,” the statement read.
The tower involved is not a Federal Aviation Administration tower, so the agency does not have a report on the event. The FAA is working to gather information on the incident, the agency stated.
"Given his speed ... I did not 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," the pilot stated, according to a recording of the conversation. "So sorry about the aggressive maneuver, it caught me by surprise, this is not normal at all. They did not give us a heads up, as a result, the Air Force base does have radar ... long story short, it was not fun; however, I do apologize for it and thank you for understanding. Not a not a fun day at work." pilot stated
Its unknown how near the two aircraft were to each other or whether a cockpit alert was triggered to warn the pilots of a possible collision. Minot hosts an Air Force base that houses B-52 bombers.
In shortly, “We’re aware of the recent reports about both commercial and Air Force aircraft flying near Minot International Airport and are actively investigating the situation. We can confirm that a B-52 from Minot Air Force Base participated in a flyover during the North Dakota State Fair,” an Air Force spokesperson told ABC News. SkyWest also stated it is looking into the incident.
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