Delta Air Lines flight 3788, an Embraer E-175 operated by SkyWest, nearly collided with another aircraft as it flew from Minneapolis–St. Paul to Minot, North Dakota
In addition to operating as a civilian airport, Minot is home to an Air Force base where the 5th Bomb Wing’s 26 B-52 Stratofortress bombers are based.
The Delta Connection flight began its descent toward Minot, and the plane suddenly performed an evasive maneuver to avoid another aircraft converging on their flight path.
As relayed in video recorded by a passenger, the captain came on the PA to explain what happened. He apologized and detailed the abrupt turn to avoid a potential mid-air collision, “For those of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the airplane kind of coming at us… nobody told us about it.”
@azamora616 #plane#nearmiss#flight3788 @delta ♬ original sound – Andrea
No traffic alert had been given prior to the sighting. He explained that Minot’s airport tower does not have radar, and local controllers rely on visual separation for approaching aircraft. They receive inbound position reports controllers handing off aircraft, and sequences them using pilot reports.
The Minot controller instructed the flight to turn right to increase spacing with another aircraft on approach. The captain spotted an aircraft off to the right side of the jet, reported it to air traffic control, and the controller urgently reversed their instructions telling him “Turn left.”
They banked hard to avoid the oncoming traffic, and those on the right side of the aircraft could actually see the other aircraft “coming at us” in the pilot’s words.
That plane was “a lot faster than us” and on a collision course. The captain initially thought it was a light aircraft, but its high speed made him realize that “it was military” calling what happpened “not normal at all” and suggested it was a B-52.
I don’t know why they didn’t give us a heads up because the Air Force base does have radar, and nobody said, ‘Hey, there’s also a B-52 in the pattern.
Ultimately the SkyWest pilot called it “not a fun day at work.” Passengers broke into applause.
The SkyWest captain’s account clearly implicates a U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress, and Minot Air Force Base’s B-52s often fly training patterns in the area, and a heavy bomber (with its transponder possibly not squawking on civilian systems) could have been performing approaches or departing the base around the same time.
Military aircraft operating with discrete or no ADS-B output will not show up on public flight trackers, nor automatically alert civilian air traffic control. At the same time, the pilot initially thought it was a light aircraft and ADS-B Exchange for the time of the incident shows another plane broadcasting nearby – a small Canadian-registered Glasair III climbing through roughly the same altitude and headed southeast.
The implication was that this Glasair might have been the “airplane coming at us” initially seen by the E-175 crew. So there’s speculation that the near-miss was actually with the small plane – or that two conflicts were unfolding almost simultaneously.
It’s possible that the SkyWest crew and Minot Tower were aware of the outbound Glasair (hence the initial instruction to turn right for spacing behind it), but then the real danger came from the unseen B-52 crossing their path, prompting the hard-left turn.
The lack of any Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) alert until the last moment (implied by the surprise) also suggests the other aircraft might not have had an active transponder signal.
Thankfully, no collision occurred and the SkyWest E-175 landed safely at Minot shortly after the incident. And the unusually candid explanation from the cockpit was clearly appreciated by passengers (as well as the sharp, alert flying!).
Seems like they should have radar.
Glad everyone’s alright. At least they were “clean on OPSEC…” *face palm*
Here we go again, military aircraft hot-dogging, flying without transponders and cutting across commercial flight paths. Could have easily been another Washington DC mid-air collision.
A large portion of the route crosses Devil’s Lake East Military Operations Area. Civilian aircraft flying through MOAs are supposed to inform ATC of their presence and request permission to enter so the military is supposed to know what civilian aircraft are in the area….yeah, supposed to.
@Doc423 — Asking for a few of our occasional commenters who can’t understand that accidents do happen and that it isn’t usually because of the background or identity of the pilots, do you think would it matter if any of these pilots were say… young, women, or homosexual? Because, personally, I think, if they are ‘fit to fly,’ I don’t care what gender, creed or predilection they have. As Anatoly Dyatlov’s character in the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries Chernobyl says: “Safety first. Always…”
I’d like an explanation as to why military flights do not have active ADS-B during training flights. I can easily understand why it would be turned off during operational flights, but this wasn’t such a flight. There is a long history of military and commercial aircraft collisions, all easily avoidable given today’s technology.
@Ron — Perhaps, these days, we’re more focused on ‘the enemy within’ and the so-called ‘homegrowns,’ so keep those ADS-Bs off in case… antifa or whatever. Psh. All kidding aside, you’re absolutely right, sir. *salute*
Oh SH#T
Maybe we will get an explanation from the military about what equipment they don’t put on military aircraft designed to penetrate opposing countries and survive. Maybe they will even give an explanation why. Don’t bet on it. In fact, bet against it.
Scary stuff, glad crisis was averted and props to the pilot.
1990: Are you on your meds today? Nobody said anything about what you are going on about. Seems like you are a one person show bringing up exactly what you’re arguing against.
@Tim Dunn – Aircraft operating under IFR flight rules (all airline traffic) do not have to announce their presence in an MOA as they are already under ATC control. If the area is “hot” the controller can vector the aircraft to a “safe” location. More troubling is why the B-52 had his transponder off on a training flight, disabling TCAS in the Delta cockpit.
The fact that a military base and a civilian airport share the airfield, but their atcs don’t share information is bad enough. But to me, the really damning thing here is that it was the slower civilian aircraft that had to take evasive action. Wtf were the military pilot and instructor thinking? Faster aircraft has the responsibility to avoid.
Keep climing Delta, unless air traffic control tells you to immediately turn left or right to avoid a mid air collision.
So, nothing really happened other than a regional crew leaving brown marks on their seat cushions.
@ Tim Dunn
“Civilian aircraft flying through MOAs are supposed to inform ATC of their presence and request permission to enter so the military is supposed to know what civilian aircraft are in the area….yeah, supposed to.”
That (unfortunately) is not correct. If you are operating on instrument flight rules (IFR) like all passenger carriers are, then air traffic control (ATC) knows where you are at all times. They will occasionally clear participating IFR traffic through a military operation area (MOA) if it is inactive, however they commonly route IFR traffic above or around those. IFR traffic do not has to inform ATC upon entering a MOA because their position and flight route is already known to them. On the other hand, if an aircraft is operating on visual flight rules (VFR) they are not required to be in contact with any ATC facility outside of air traffic controlled areas around towered airports. Furthermore they are allowed to fly into any MOA (active or not) at anytime without requirement to inform anyone about it. While I consider this ill-advised, unsafe and frankly stupid, unfortunately these are the FAA regulations for VRF traffic to date. Military air controllers and pilots are the ones required to maintain visual separation from any VFR traffic flying inside an active MOA, which again is (in my opinion) unsafe for all traffic involved.
I do agree with other comments about the use of Mode C transponders by military aircrafts on training flights. I do not know the specific regulations governing those activities, but (again in my opinion) not doing so is a major safety hazard while operating inside busy terminal areas with civilian traffic arrivals and departures from nearby airports. I believe it should be mandatory for all military training flights to comply with the same rules requiring transponder/ADS-B use as civilian air traffic. ADS-B position data may have given the civilian pilots in the DC area tragic mid-air collision advanced notice of the incoming military traffic allowing them to reject the landing clearance and execute a go around.
Mind Rot, ND says it all. (Minot, ND)
There was absolutely ZERO requirement for any aircraft in that area to have ADSB-Out. There is ZERO requirement to talk to anyone, let alone get permission, before entering a Military Operating Area (MOA). Educate yourself on the rules before making such ignorant comments.
“1990: Are you on your meds today? Nobody said anything about what you are going on about. Seems like you are a one person show bringing up exactly what you’re arguing against.”
Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!