JetBlue Flight 1112 from Curaçao to New York JFK nearly came into contact with a U.S. Air Force air-to-air refueling tanker near Venezuela. Curaçao is just off Venezuela’s coast. And the tanker is being called an “invisible US military aircraft.”
While climbing through 33,000 feet, the JetBlue pilots reported traffic crossing directly in front of them, close enough that they halted the climb to avoid a collision. They describe it to air traffic control as “within 5 miles — maybe 2 or 3 miles” and “at our altitude.” The JetBlue pilot said the tanker did not have its transponder on. The tanker then headed into Venezuelan airspace.
JetBlue says it reported the incident to federal authorities and will participate in any investigation. However investigations aren’t likely going anywhere, though controllers confirmed:
- The military aircraft was at 34,000 feet
- The JetBlue aircraft halted its climb around 33,300 feet
- And the incident is considered “a near midair collision”
The incident is tied to increased military activity in the region as the U.S. puts pressure on Venezuela for regime change. The FAA had recently warned U.S. aircraft to “exercise caution” in Venezuelan airspace.
— Sir Listenalot (@SirListenalot) December 14, 2025
Ultimately this isn’t an “invisible” plane in the supernatural sense – it’s an “uncooperative target.” If an aircraft isn’t squawking (or isn’t ADS-B Out), then civilian controllers may not get an identified, altitude-tagged track. That forces everyone else to deconflict visually, which is what the JetBlue crew is complaining about.
The JetBlue Airbus A320 arrived in New York four hours later.
(HT: @crucker)
Why is the air force in the vicinity of Venezuela? Oh, yeah, for the oil and, of course, regime change.
I can understand the military plane not having a transponder on, but the military plane is described as an air force tanker (i.e. not a stealth plane), very odd that it didn’t show up on ATC’s radar.