The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an apparent close call between a military aircraft and a SkyWest Airlines plane operating under the Delta Connection brand, it announced Monday.
SkyWest Flight 3788 was en route Friday evening from Minneapolis to Minot, North Dakota, when it “performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path,” according to a SkyWest statement.
“We are investigating the incident,” SkyWest said.
The airplane had been “cleared for approach by the tower” before it did so, the airline confirmed.
SkyWest, a St. George, Utah-based regional carrier, has agreements with Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, as well as United, American and Alaska airlines, to operate regional flights that boost the other carriers’ domestic schedules.
A B-52 was “coming on a converging course with us,” the pilot is heard explaining in a video taken by a passenger and shared with NBC News.
“Sorry about the aggressive maneuver, it caught me by surprise. This is not normal, at all,” the pilot said in the video.
“There’s no radar here, so the tower does everything visually,” he said of the air traffic control tower.
The SkyWest plane landed safely at Minot International Airport, which lies about 13 miles south of Minot Air Force Base.
The tower at Minot is not staffed by FAA employees, but rather by a private company, an FAA spokesperson confirmed.
That company is Midwest ATC, which staffs more than 100 towers globally. Midwest ATC directed The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to the FAA for questions.
A Delta spokesperson told the AJC that SkyWest owns and operates the aircraft involved. According to Delta, its contracts with regional carriers allow it to control scheduling, pricing, reservations, ticketing and seat inventories.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
