Pilot Hailed For Bold Move That Helped Dodge Collision With Military B-52 Mid-Air

A commercial airline pilot is being recognized for reacting fast during a mid-air scare that could have turned out a lot worse.

The incident happened on Friday (July 18) when a Delta Connection flight, operated by SkyWest, took off from Minneapolis, Minnesota, heading toward Minot, North Dakota, just as scheduled.

Everything seemed completely routine during the flight—until the aircraft began its descent toward the destination.

As the plane neared Minot Airport, air traffic control gave the instruction for the pilot to make a right turn. But the pilot responded, saying there was something directly in their path.

They then asked him to turn left instead. But as he looked outside, he noticed the other aircraft was “kind of coming on a convergent course with us,” which made things even more tense.

It turned out that this wasn’t another commercial plane in the air. It was a military aircraft—a B-52 bomber, no less—sharing the skies with them at close range.

A commercial plane had to do a dramatic go-around to avoid crashing into another aircraft Kevin Carter/Getty Images

Thinking quickly, the pilot made a snap decision to initiate a go-around, which allowed them to avoid the military jet. One of the passengers on board later said the commercial plane tilted sharply to the side during the maneuver.

The pilot later spoke to everyone on board, offering an apology and acknowledging that it was an “aggressive manoeuvre.”

"It caught me by surprise." he admitted. "This is not normal at all."

The pilot added more context by saying: "Long story short, it was not fun, but I do apologize for it and thank you for understanding. Not a fun day at work."

Thankfully, despite the scare, Delta Flight 3788 made it to Minot Airport and landed without any further issues.

SkyWest has since stated that they’re taking the situation seriously and are currently investigating what led to the close call.

In a statement provided to UNILAD, the airline said the following: "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."

You can check out the clip where the pilot talks to the passengers right after landing here:

One of the passengers on the flight, Monica Green, opened up about how intense the experience was from her point of view.

"I just remember the plane going, like, sideways and just looking straight out the window and just seeing grass, like you weren't seeing the skyline anymore." she shared during an interview with NBC News.

It was also reported that the air traffic control team at Minot Airport didn’t have radar capabilities. Because of that, they had to rely entirely on visual guidance and couldn’t detect the B-52 bomber in advance.

Reportedly the military jet was a B-52 bomber Getty Stock Image

Interestingly, there’s an Air Force Base nearby that does use radar. This has sparked some debate about why the military didn’t notify the airport about the bomber’s flight in time.

Apparently, it’s not all that unusual for smaller airports like Minot to operate without radar systems in place.

"There are many small airports across the country that have commercial service that don't have radar." said aviation analyst Jeff Guzzetti during an interview with NBC.

"Instead, they'll have some sort of coordinating communication with another radar facility several miles away, perhaps with a military base."