Passenger plane forced to swerve in mid-air to avoid crashing into B-52 bomber
A domestic US flight was forced to make an ‘aggressive manoeuvre’ to avoid hitting a military plane mid-air.
Passengers on the Delta Connection flight from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Minot, North Dakota, described feeling the plane suddenly take a ‘really hard turn’.
The pilot then made an announcement to the cabin apologising and promised to ‘explain everything when we land safely’.
In footage filmed from inside the cabin after coming to a stop, the pilot can be heard apologising again to stunned passengers.
‘It caught me by surprise, this is not normal at all. I don’t know why they didn’t give us a heads-up.
‘You probably kind of saw the airplane coming at us. Nobody told us about it.’
The plane had been cleared for approach as it neared its destination but ‘performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path’, according to a statement from operator SkyWest.
The aircraft in question was a B-52 Stratofortress bomber flown from Minot Air Force Base.
An Air Force spokesperson confirmed a B-52 ‘conducted a flyover of the North Dakota State Fair’ at the time and said officials were ‘looking into the matter’.
Monica Green, who wasn’t able to see the bomber from her seat, said that after getting to the airport she heard people on the ground describe seeing the other plane ‘nearly hit us, and it went so low it passed under us’.
Speaking to KMOT News, she praised the pilot’s transparency, saying it left everyone ‘weirdly calm’ despite the sudden swerving.
She added: ‘We took a really hard turn, and that’s when the pilot got on the intercom and said, ‘”sorry everybody, I’ll explain everything when we land safely”‘.
‘The way he said it, it almost sounded like he was insinuating that landing safely might not be an option for a moment,’ she added.
‘He was almost shaking, trying to find the right words, but he was nice and detailed. It felt good that they weren’t just going to brush it off.’
The plane circled Minot Airport a few times before landing
SkyWest has also said it is investigating the incident.
Delta and Minot Air Force Base have been approached for comment.
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