Airline pilot forced to pull off ‘aggressive' move to avoid catastrophic midair collision with Air Force B-52 bomber
The Delta regional jet was on approach to Minot, North Dakota, when it came terrifyingly close to colliding with the Stratofortress during the 90-minute flight.
4
4
The pilot of the Embraer E175 jet performed an "aggressive maneuver" to avoid the rapid incoming bomber.
Crew members as well as well as passengers on the right side of the jet could be seen from their windows, Aviation A2Z reports.
Passengers en route from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Minot International Airport in North Dakota said the plane's atmosphere was "weirdly calm" as it made various sharp turns randomly.
One passenger Monica Green recalled to KFYR TV:"I felt like I was gaslighting myself, like maybe I was being crazy, because no one else was reacting.
"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.
"We all just kind of looked at each other and stayed quiet."
She went on to praise the pilot for then going into detail on what actually happened - and could tell he was shaken by the horror ordeal by his voice.
Monica added: "He was very casual, if you can be casual about something like that, but you could tell he was stressed.
"He was almost shaking, trying to find the right words, but he was nice and detailed.
Terrifying moment Boeing passenger plane catches FIRE after take off with flames erupting from the engine
"It felt good that they weren't just going to brush it off."
The pilot told confused passengers that he had received instructions from air traffic controllers to change the aircraft's direction due to inadequate separation from a preceding aircraft on the approach path.
He went on to say that he had no prior warning of military air traffic and swiftly decided the safest option was to turn the plane behind the bomber, KFYR TV reports.
After explaining the terrifying situation, the pilot received praise and thanks from grateful passengers for his transparency in the near-miss.
The B-52 bomber had come from Minot Air Force Base, which houses the 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing along with a large number of US Air Force equipment and vehicles.
The affected passenger plane was a Delta Connection regional jet that was being operated by SkyWest Airlines.
SkyWest said in a statement: "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."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Delta plane crash was caused by UNDERQUALIFIED pilot being allowed to fly jet, flight attendant claims
A flight attendant on board a Delta plane that crash-landed in Canada and flipped upside down claims an inexperienced pilot is to blame for the incident in a bombshell new lawsuit. Vanessa Miles, 67, who worked for Delta's regional subsidiary Endeavor Air as a flight attendant, was traveling as a passenger on the regional aircraft to her next assignment when it crashed on February 17. Endeavor Flight 4819 a crash-landed in Toronto from Minneapolis and burst into flames after flipping over and skidding on the tarmac. Dozens were hospitalized but miraculously all 76 passengers and four crew members survived the horrific crash. Now a lawsuit filed against both Delta Air Lines and Endeavor in federal court in Michigan on Monday claims the fiery crash was caused by, 'an inexperienced and inadequately trained pilot'. Miles is seeking $75 million in damages for the injuries she allegedly suffered from the crash while 'deadheading,' meaning she was traveling as a passenger and not allowed to perform any work duties. The flight attendant was left unconscious and dangling upside down by her seatbelt following the crash, the filing states. Miles accused the airlines of a 'reckless disregard for passenger safety', in the lawsuit, asserting that the, 'accident was caused, at least in part, by [the airlines] knowingly assigning an inexperienced and inadequately trained pilot to operate the flight'. The airlines, 'cut corners on safety by rushing pilots through training programs and knowingly putting passengers at risk with inexperienced flight crew', the lawsuit states. Delta declined to comment on the pending litigation, but directed the Daily Mail to their previous statements on the Endeavor Air 4819 flight crew, insisting they are qualified and adequately trained. The unidentified captain of the plane had worked for Endeavor Air, a subsidiary of Delta, for 18 years. He has flown a total of 3,570 hours across his career and is also a training instructor. On the day of the crash, he was coming onto his first shift of the week. It was also the first flight of the day. His co-pilot, who has also not been identified, had worked with Endeavor for just over a year and had flown an estimated 1,422 hours across the span of her career. The co-pilot was on her final shift of the week. Both the captain and first officer are 'qualified and FAA certified for their positions'. Miles claimed she suffered a fractured left shoulder/scapula, traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness, post-concussion syndrome with headaches, dizziness, and other cognitive difficulties, bilateral knee injuries, back injuries, exposure to jet fuel and toxic fumes, and psychological trauma including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The court document claims to provide detail on her terrifying experience during the crash. '[Miles] was rendered temporarily unconscious while hanging upside down from her seatbelt in the inverted aircraft,' the filing said. 'Upon regaining consciousness, she found herself soaked in jet fuel and surrounded by smoke, putting her at grave risk for chemical burns, asphyxiation, and death.' Miles fell approximately six to seven feet to the ground during the evacuation because the emergency slides had not deployed, further aggravating her injuries, the complaint states. She said the plane exploded two minutes after she exited the aircraft, but claims she was forced to stand outside in the frigid weather for one hour before she was taken to the hospital, per the filing. The Daily Mail contacted Miles' attorneys for comment. In March, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada released a preliminary report detailing the current 'focus areas' of the investigation, but the information that has been garnered so far. Landing techniques offered in pilot training, as well as training for flight attendants are being probed, along with the landing gear and wing structure. Authorities are also examining cabin obstructions and impediments once inverted, as well as 'coordination in emergencies' and 'organizational and management factors.' The report determined that the plane suffered a right-side landing gear collapse as it made contact with the runway, as challenging wind gusts hampered efforts to land. When contacted on Friday, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada did not have an update on the ongoing investigation.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
My house burned down after I made a VERY basic mistake in the kitchen
A woman has candidly detailed how a simple mistake in the kitchen completely altered her life. Kyndall Zachary thought nothing of it when she put a brownie on a paper plate to warm it in the microwave. The 22-year-old accidentally pressed two minutes instead of the intended 20 seconds and, when she opened the appliance, found it filled with smoke. 'I grabbed the paper plate of brownies and ran them under water and then threw them away in the trash can,' the North Carolina student told the Daily Mail. Kyndall had also wiped the kitchen counter off with a paper towel before placing that in the trash can too, which was located under the counter in a cupboard. 'Forty-five minutes later, after I cleared all the smoke out by opening the doors and having fans going, I go to my room and am about to go to bed,' she said. 'I thought everything was fine,' she admitted. 'I kept the fans going and I took my two small dogs with me.' Kyndall was almost asleep when she heard a 'weird beeping' sound before getting up to investigate what it was. 'I walked out of my room and turned the corner to see a bright orange glow, smoke and heard crackling of the fire coming from the kitchen,' she said. 'I sprinted back in my room called 911 grabbed my two small dogs that were with me.' The quick-thinking young woman, who instantly knew she had to evacuate, alerted her brother who was in the basement and ran out the front door. According to Kyndall, the fire started in the trash can almost an hour after she had thrown the brownie away. 'It got too hot in the trash can, mixed with paper towels also in the trash can it started a spark,' she explained. 'The scary part is that the beeping wasn't even the fire alarm because the fire alarm never went off,' she added. 'The fire possibly tripped the power of the microwave and that was the beeping that made me get up,' she explained. 'The fire department said had it been a few more minutes it would have been an entirely different story.' Kyndall suffers from PSTD from the incident, admitting she has had panic attacks and nightmares about my house catching on fire again. 'I refuse to cook anything right now, I can't look at or even smell anything fire related right now,' she said. 'Although the fire didn't spread past the kitchen the entire home is not livable and most of our things cannot be saved from all of the water damage, fire damage, soot and smoke damage,' Kyndall said 'Although the fire didn't spread past the kitchen the entire home is not livable and most of our things cannot be saved from all of the water damage, fire damage, soot and smoke damage.' Kyndall, who has three siblings, said she is unsure where her family will go now. 'We have looked around but it's hard when we have no furniture and just need it short term, and since we have four dogs it's just complicated,' she pointed out. She urged everyone to have a fire safety plan so they can also act quickly in an emergency. 'It's scary to think the fire started almost an hour after I ran the brownies under water and threw them away,' she mused. 'I would have never imagined I walk out of my room to see my entire kitchen engulfed in flames.' She thanked her local fire department for their speed. 'They informed me that this was completely unintentional and a freak accident, anytime in the future I would absolutely put it in almost a pool of water for hours before I throw anything hot away again,' she declared. In 2023, the National Fire Protection Association reported a whopping 44 percent of all house fires started in the kitchen. Ranges or cooktops were involved in 53 percent of the reported home cooking fires, 88 percent of cooking fire deaths, and 74 percent of cooking fire injuries. Households with electric ranges had a higher risk of cooking fires and associated losses than those with gas ranges. Unattended cooking was the leading factor contributing to cooking fires and casualties. Clothing was the item first ignited in less than one percent of these fires, but clothing ignition led to seven percent of the home cooking fire deaths. More than one-quarter of the people killed by cooking fires were asleep when they were fatally injured. More than half of the non-fatal injuries occurred when people tried to control the fire themselves.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Guernsey diving board safety proposals submitted to planners
Plans for works and signage to improve safety at an open-air diving board in Guernsey have been planning application by Guernsey States Property said a number of minor improvements were required at the Ladies' Pool at La Vallette in St Peter comes after the platform at the Ladies' Pool was closed in February over safety concerns about the depth of the proposal, put to the Development and Planning Authority, includes extending the platform by 250mm (about 10 inches), replacing the access steps and adding handrails to the steps, fixing strips of high-grip material to the deck of the platform. It also hopes to replace signage in two locations, at the top of the steps to the Ladies' Pool and at the site application proposes a number of unguarded edges and steps around the pool are marked with narrow strips of white paint to make them clearer. A number of "no diving" warnings will also be painted on the poolside concrete in a number of "critical areas". The States has also set out expectations that all new development should demonstrate the "wise use of natural resources, incorporate appropriate sustainable construction techniques and mitigate, adapt and become more resilient to climate change"."It is expected that these improvements will be effective and durable, enhancing safety for the users of the pool, while limiting environmental impacts as far as possible."
