Near Miss Incident Involving B-52 Bomber and Passenger Jet in North Dakota

Air traffic controllers in North Dakota did not alert a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber about an incoming passenger aircraft, leading to a tense situation.

The B-52 Stratofortress stationed at Minot Air Force Base was set to fly over the North Dakota State Fair on Saturday night. This operation had been coordinated in advance with the Federal Aviation Administration as well as controllers at both Minot International Airport and Minot AFB, with military personnel reportedly in consistent communication throughout.

The crew of the B-52 reached out to the Minot International Airport Tower and was instructed to continue two miles west beyond an overpass. However, the tower failed to inform them about the inbound commercial flight. As the B-52 proceeded west to help clear the airspace, the aircraft was not warned about the approaching jet.

SkyWest Airlines Flight, coming from Minneapolis to Minot International, had to make an unexpected sharp turn to avoid the bomber, which was reportedly visible to passengers and crew alike through the right side windows.

Videos recorded by those onboard the SkyWest flight showed a quick-thinking pilot informing passengers that they had to maneuver aggressively as they encountered the bomber directly on their flight path, advised by air traffic control.

“I apologize for the aggressive maneuvering,” the pilot stated in footage that made its way to social media.

The pilot expressed surprise at the lack of a heads-up, saying, “This is not normal at all. I don’t know why we didn’t get a warning. There’s radar at the air force base.” He acknowledged the seriousness of the incident, noting that while it wasn’t amusing at all, he appreciated everyone’s understanding.

The aircraft managed to land safely, but this near-miss highlights a growing number of concerning incidents in aviation this year.

The FAA is currently looking into what happened during the incident on Saturday.