A pilot was forced to make an “aggressive maneuver" to avoid a mid-air collision with another plane over the United States, following which he made an in-flight announcement to reassure his terrified passengers. In a viral TikTok video uploaded on Saturday, July 19, the pilot told passengers that he was forced to make the sudden detour due to a military plane that was flying nearby.
The SkyWest Airlines pilot said that unclear air traffic control instructions led to the close call. The incident occurred during a flight from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Minot International Airport in North Dakota.
Pilot’s in-flight announcement to passengers
According to a report in People magazine, based on the viral TikTok, the military jet flew so close to the passenger plane that passengers on one side of the plane saw it coming.
"For those of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the airplane kind of coming at us,” the pilot explained in the video. “Nobody told us about it, and so we continued. There's no radar here, so the tower does everything visually.”
The pilot explained the sequence of events to the passengers, saying he was instructed to "report about six miles from the airport" and make a specific turn.
However, when he saw the approaching military jet, he told air traffic control, "There’s an airplane over there”. The pilot was then told to turn in the opposite direction.
{{/usCountry}}However, when he saw the approaching military jet, he told air traffic control, "There’s an airplane over there”. The pilot was then told to turn in the opposite direction.
{{/usCountry}}"By the time we went back to clearance with nowhere, I saw the airplane that was kind of coming on a converging course with us," he said.
"It caught me by surprise. This is not normal at all," he continued. "I don't know why they didn't give us a heads-up, because the airport base does have radar. And nobody said, 'Hey, there's also a B52 in the pattern.'
He then apologized for the sudden lurch as he performed an “aggressive maneuver” to avoid a mid-air collision. "Long story short, it was not fun," said the pilot. “I apologize for it.”
What passengers said
The mood inside the cabin was eerily calm as passengers saw the military bomber jet approaching.
“I felt like I was gaslighting myself, like maybe I was being crazy, because no one else was reacting,” passenger Monica Green told KFYR TV. “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,’” she said.
“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.”
Green praised the pilot for keeping calm. “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,” she said.
SkyWest Airlines’ statement
Skywest Airlines confirmed the incident.
“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 the airline told People magazine.