The pilot of a SkyWest Airlines flight operated by Delta Air Lines was forced to perform an "aggressive maneuver" to avoid a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber Friday, and explained the frightening incident to passengers in audio that went viral on social media.
The incident occurred as the flight was carrying passengers from Minneapolis to Minot, N.D. The Embraer E175 jet was flying close to a B-52 Stratofortress from Minot Air Force Base when the pilot took the evasive action. The flight then circled Minot International Airport several times before landing.
"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," a spokesperson for SkyWest said in a statement to FOX Business.
"We are investigating the incident," the spokesperson added.
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A video posted on social media appeared to include audio of the pilot explaining what happened to passengers.
"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 in the video that has now gone viral.
"So sorry about the aggressive maneuver. It caught me by surprise," he continued. "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 fun day at work."
FOX Business reached out to the U.S. Air Force and Minot Air Force Base for more information.
One passenger, Monica Green, who was seated in the front of the plane, described the atmosphere on the aircraft as "weirdly calm" given the sharp turns.
"Honestly, everyone was weirdly calm," she told local station KFYR. "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."
"I texted my husband saying, 'this is weird, we keep circling the airport, but we’re not landing.' I was a little anxious, and when he said, ‘no, this is serious,’ I started to panic internally," she told the outlet.
Green praised the pilot for being transparent and detailed about the situation, noting that he seemed stressed as he updated passengers.
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"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. It felt good that they weren’t just going to brush it off," said Green.
Minot Air Force Base is home to the 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing, as well as several U.S. Air Force equipment and vehicles, including B-52 bombers.
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