A B-52 Bomber Just Had a Close Call with a Civilian Flight
The bomber nearly collided with a SkyWest jet in North Dakota due to lack of radar at Minot Airport and poor coordination. The FAA and military are now investigating safety protocols.
The United States Air Force issued a statement regarding the close call between a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber and a SkyWest jet last Friday in the skies over the North Dakota State Fair. Footage recorded by attendees shows that the military aircraft was heading towards the regional jet.
“A B-52 bomber from Minot AFB conducted a flyover at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds. This flyover was a special event recognizing the city of Minot as a “Great American Defense Community,” an honor that highlights the city’s strong support for the military,” Minot Air Force Base (AFB), where the bomber was operating from said in the statement.
The Air Force also explained that the flyover of the fairgrounds had been “planned and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.” According to the Air Force statement, the B-52 completed the required checklists, and the crew remained in contact with Minot Approach and Minot International Airport tower, which “provided instructions” for the aircraft to continue on its flight path.
“The tower did not advise of the inbound commercial aircraft,” the statement added.
Delta Flight 3788, operated by Sky West, was the aircraft approaching Minot International Airport. It made “an unexpected sharp turn,” for which the pilot apologized to the crew.
“Sorry about the aggressive maneuver. It caught me by surprise,” the pilot was heard saying on the video, according to The Associated Press. “This is not normal at all. I don’t know why they didn’t give us a heads-up.”
Despite being an “international airport,” Minot is a small regional airport that handles fewer than 25 flights daily, including from just three airlines.
Why Doesn’t the Minot Airport Have Radar?
The airport doesn’t operate radar and instead “directs flights visually.” In this case, it was the pilot who saw the bomber, informed the tower, and “made a hard turn to avoid” the B-52 Stratofortress.
The Sky West pilot did note that the Air Force Base should have been aware of the situation.
“The Air Force base does have radar, and nobody said, Hey, there’s a B-52 in the pattern,” the pilot told passengers.
The FAA is now investigating the incident.
“The FAA is investigating the event involving SkyWest Airlines Flight 3788 at Minot International Airport on Friday, July 18. Air traffic services were provided by the Minot Air Traffic Control Tower, which is a private company. These controllers are not FAA employees,” the FAA acknowledged.
Why Are There More Airplane Accidents Now?
Last week’s close call came just six months after a US Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter collided with a passenger aircraft near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia in January, killing 67 people.
That was not exactly an isolated incident.
CBS News reported in March that nearly a quarter of the “more than 8,000 near midair collisions” that occurred in US airspace between 1987 and 2021 “involved at least one military aircraft.” Even more ominous was that one in six “considered critically close” incidents involved a military aircraft, despite military flights accounting for only about two percent of all flights during the same period.
It was also in March that another Delta Air Lines flight had a close call with four US Air Force jets participating in a flyover at Arlington National Cemetery.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Airman 1st Class Jennifer Nesbitt.
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