Midair collision between JetBlue and USAF narrowly avoided
A JetBlue flight from Curaçao narrowly avoided a midair collision with a US Air Force refuelling tanker, with the pilot blaming the military plane for crossing his path. “We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said, on a recording of his conversation with air traffic control. “They passed directly in our flight path.”
“They don’t have their transponder turned on,” he later added, “it’s outrageous.” The incident was between JetBlue Flight 1112 from the Caribbean island nation of Curaçao, near Venezuela. It was on its way to JFK airport in New York. This comes as the US military has increased pressure in the region, especially on the government of Venezuela.
“We just had traffic pass directly in front of us within 5 miles of us, maybe 2 or 3 miles, but it was an air-to air-refueler from the United States Air Force and he was at our altitude,” the pilot said. “We had to stop our climb.” The pilot said the Air Force plane then headed into Venezuelan air space.
JetBlue says it has reported the incident to federal authorities and will participate in any investigation. “Our crewmembers are trained on proper procedures for various flight situations, and we appreciate our crew for promptly reporting this situation to our leadership team,” Derek Dombrowski, a spokesperson for the company said.
The Associated Press says that the Pentagon referred it to the Air Force for comment, with the Air Force not immediately responding to a request from the AP.
A warning was issued last month by the Federal Aviation Administration to American aircraft, calling on them to “exercise caution” around Venezuelan air space, “due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela.”
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