An investigation has been launched in the US after a near-miss collision between a civil aviation plane of the airline “Skywest“ and a US Air Force B-52 bomber was avoided at the last minute, world agencies reported, quoted by BTA.
The incident took place last Friday at Minot International Airport in North Dakota. The investigation is being led by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane had been flying for about two hours between Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Minot. However, it finally made a sharp turn after spotting a military plane in its flight path. This happened as the plane was approaching Minot International Airport for landing. The pilot then apologized to the passengers for the abrupt maneuver, explaining that he was forced to do it because he had spotted a B-52 bomber on his flight path. He said he was surprised by the appearance of another machine that was moving much faster than his plane.
The plane, which was an Embraer E-175, had 76 passengers and 4 crew members on board, including both pilots.
Today, the Federal Aviation Administration clarified that the Minot control tower is operated by a private company, not by agency employees.
In early May, the administration of US President Donald Trump announced a complete modernization of the US air traffic control system, which he said was outdated and suffering from a shortage of controllers in towers operated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The US Air Force indicated that the military plane involved in the incident was a B-52 bomber, which was performing a flyover for an air show in Main. The Air Force is also investigating the incident.
In January, a mid-flight collision between a civilian plane approaching Ronald Reagan International Airport near Washington and a military helicopter killed 67 people.