FAA says it will investigate incident between SkyWest jet and B-52
The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it will investigate an incident that occurred between a Delta regional jet and a B-52 aircraft.
On Friday, a Delta regional jet on approach to Minot, North Dakota, made an "aggressive maneuver" to avoid a midair collision with a B-52 bomber, according to the Delta pilot.
"All of a sudden we just jerk really hard to the right -- we just kept taking more turns and more turns and he gets on the announcement and says, 'I'm sorry everybody, I'll explain everything once we've landed safely," passenger Monica Green told ABC News following the incident.
The flight, operated by SkyWest, had departed from Minneapolis. Once on the ground, the pilot apologized to passengers for the abrupt move and explained the situation.
"Given his speed ... 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," the pilot said, according to a recording of the conversation. "So sorry about the aggressive maneuver, it caught me by surprise, this is not normal at all. I don't know why they didn't give us a heads up, because the Air Force base does have radar ... long story short, it was not fun, but I do apologize for it and thank you for understanding. Not a not a fun day at work."
Minot is home to an Air Force base with B-52 bombers.
An Air Force spokesperson released a statement about the close call to ABC News on Monday, saying the B-52 aircraft pilots were not advised of the inbound commercial aircraft by air traffic control personnel.
"The B-52 crew contacted Minot International Airport tower and the tower provided instructions to continue 2 miles westbound after the flyover. The tower did not advise of the inbound commercial aircraft," the statement read.
Minot is known as a "Class D" airport and does not have radar. It operates under VFR, or visual flight rules only. The controllers are contractors and not FAA employees.
SkyWest said it's investigating the incident.
"SkyWest flight 3788, operating as Delta Connection from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Minot, North Dakota, 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," according to a spokesperson.
ABC News' Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
