SkyWest flight does "aggressive maneuver" to avoid a B-52 military aircraft, pilot says
The pilot of a SkyWest flight told passengers Friday night that he performed an "aggressive maneuver" to avoid a B-52 military aircraft in-flight as he came in for a landing in Minot, North Dakota — then apologized for the sudden move.
The airline said in a statement that SkyWest flight 3788, operating as Delta Connection on a flight from Minneapolis, "landed safely in Minot after being cleared for approach by the tower but performing a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path. We are investigating the incident."
SkyWest said the flight had 76 passengers and four crew members on board.
In a video recorded by passenger Monica Green and obtained by CBS News, the pilot is heard calmly announcing to passengers: "For those of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the airplane kinda sorta coming at us. Nobody told us about it and so we continued."
The pilot explained that the tower at the Minot airport doesn't have radar, so air traffic controllers do everything visually.
The pilot said he "saw the airplane that was kind of coming on a converging course with us."
"Given his speed," the pilot continued, "it was a military (aircraft). I don't know how fast they were going but they were a lot faster than us. I thought the safest thing to do was to turn behind it. 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 (nearby) Air Force base does have radar and nobody said, 'Hey, there's also a B-52 in the pattern.'"
"Long story short, it was not fun but I do apologize for it and I thank you for everything. It was not a fun day at work today," the pilot added, at which point the passengers started applauding.
The Air Force confirmed in a statement to CBS News on Monday that a B-52 aircraft assigned to Minot Air Force Base was operating in the area at the time, having conducted a flyover of the North Dakota State Fair.
Minot Air Force Base said later Monday in a statement that the B-52 was performing the flyover for "a special event recognizing the city of Minot as a 'Great American Defense Community.'"
"The flyover was planned in advance and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. This included the FAA's local Flight Standards District Office, Minot International Airport air traffic control personnel, and Minot Approach Control," the base said.
The base said it communicated the flyover plans to Minot Approach Control throughout the event and that, while in a planned holding pattern, the B-52 crew "communicated the flyover plan to both RAPCON and Minot International Airport's air traffic control tower."
"Minot Approach directed the B-52 crew at 7:43 p.m. to contact Minot International Airport's air traffic control. 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 base said.
Green, the passenger who recorded the video of the pilot making the announcement, said that as the aircraft was descending, she felt it jolt to the right. She said it felt like going around a sharp turn on a roller coaster.
"I could look out the window and see straight at the grass instead of seeing the horizon," she said.
Green said she wants answers. The flight stuck with her during her trip home to Dallas on Monday.
"I was sweating," she told CBS News. "I was shaking. I was not excited to get on and it really hit me once we started taking off."
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it is investigating the incident. "Air traffic services were provided by the Minot air traffic control tower, which is run by a private company. These controllers are not FAA employees," the agency said.
