A Delta Airlines’ regional jet reportedly made an “aggressive maneuver” on approach to Minot, North Dakota in order to avoid a mid-air collision with a B-52 bomber, according to ABC News, citing a pilot. The flight was being operated by SkyWest which is investigating the matter.
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The alleged incident, where the Delta Airlines’ jet almost had a collision with a B-52 bomber, took place on July 18. In the report published by ABC News on Sunday, the pilot apologised to passengers after a safe landing. The report quoted the recording of remarks by the pilot who wasn’t identified.
The Delta Airlines’ plane, which had departed from Minneapolis, was heading to Minot, North Dakota which is known as the home of an Air Force base with B-52 bombers. The US Air Force has not released any statement in the matter.
NEW: Delta pilot makes an “aggressive maneuver” to avoid colliding with a B-52 bomber above Minot, North Dakota.
New audio footage captured by a passenger onboard the plane reveals what exactly happened, according to the pilot.
“Given his speed … I don’t know how fast they… pic.twitter.com/Hos687fZRm
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 20, 2025
While apologizing to passengers, the pilot reportedly said “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. 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 Air Force base does have radar.”
It was not clear how close the B-52 bomber and the Delta Airlines’ jet came to each other and whether the cockpit alarm was activated to alert the pilots of a potential collision.
A New York Post report, quoting KFYR TV, stated the passengers inside the Delta plane remained “weirdly calm” as the commercial jet made an “aggressive maneuver” with sharp turns.
“I felt like I was gaslighting myself, like maybe I was being crazy, because no one else was reacting,” a passenger Monica Green said.
A SkyWest spokesperson said, “SkyWest flight 3788, operating as Delta Connection from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Minot, North Dakota, 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. We are investigating the incident.”