On Friday, a JetBlue flight heading to New York had to halt its ascent to avoid colliding with a U.S. Air Force refueling tanker involved in military operations near Venezuela. The pilot described his co-pilot’s actions as “outrageous.”
“We nearly had a mid-air collision,” the captain of JetBlue Flight 1112, flying from Curacao to JFK Airport, told local air traffic controllers. A recording of their conversation, shared on Sunday, revealed his frustration. “They were right in our flight path… They didn’t have their transponders on. That’s just outrageous.”
The pilot elaborated, explaining that another aircraft passed just a few miles in front of them, specifically a U.S. Air Force air-to-air refueling plane at the same altitude, prompting the need to abort their climb.
“It’s outrageous that an unidentified aircraft was in our airspace,” the air traffic controller remarked to the JetBlue crew.
This incident occurred following the U.S. military’s series of attacks against suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which have reportedly resulted in over 80 fatalities amid efforts to displace Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
JetBlue spokesman Derek Dombrowski commented, “We have notified federal authorities about this incident and will cooperate with any investigation. Our flight crews are well-trained for various flight scenarios, and we appreciate their quick reporting of this situation to our leadership.”
In light of recent events, the Federal Aviation Administration warned military aircraft to “exercise caution” when flying over Venezuelan airspace due to escalating security concerns and heightened military activities in the region.
The Pentagon has reached out to the Air Force for further commentary, but there has been no response as of yet.
Curaçao, which is governed by the Netherlands, sits approximately 40 miles off the northern coast of Venezuela.
