ATC Negligence Exposed as B-52 Bomber Nearly Hits Plane Carrying 80 Passengers
Bismarck (The Uttam Hindu): A major air accident was averted in North Dakota, USA, when an Air Force B-52 bomber narrowly escaped a collision with a commercial plane. This incident has exposed a serious negligence of the American Air Traffic Control (ATC). At the time of this incident, there were 80 people on board the airliner, including 4 crew members.
According to the information, this incident happened on Friday in North Dakota when a Skywest Airlines plane was preparing for landing. The Air Traffic Controller (ATC) posted at Minot International Airport did not inform the crew of the B-52 bomber that a commercial plane was also present in the same airspace. The US Air Force confirmed the incident on Monday and called it a serious concern over air safety in recent times.
It is being told that the pilot of SkyWest Airlines, flying from Minneapolis as Delta Flight 3788, suddenly saw a B-52 bomber in his path. The pilot had to immediately take an aggressive turn to avoid a collision. At that time the plane was about to land at Minot International Airport. According to the Air Force, the B-52 bomber was allowed a flyover over the North Dakota State Fair, which included consent from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Minot Air Force Base ATC.
Around 8 p.m., as the B-52 bomber was completing its first flyover, the airbase's ATC asked the bomber's crew to contact Minot Airport's ATC. "The B-52 crew contacted the airport tower and were instructed to continue flying west after the flyover, but the tower did not give them any warning about the approaching commercial aircraft," the Air Force said.
In a video recorded by a passenger on the plane, the pilot can be heard saying on the intercom, "Sorry, that turn was a little aggressive. It was very unexpected even for me... I don't know why they didn't warn us. This is not normal." There were 76 passengers and 4 crew members on board the plane. The FAA, the US Air Force and SkyWest Airlines are jointly investigating the incident.