How Delta pilot stopped mid-air collision with B-52 bomber in US

Chilling audio in the moments after a Delta Airways pilot narrowly missed a mid-air collision with a B-52 bomber has been revealed.

The disturbing audio from a Delta Airways pilot to passengers after the aircraft narrowly missed a US Air Force B-52 bomber jet has been revealed.

During a 90-minute flight on Saturday evening, a fast-thinking commercial pilot flying the Delta aircraft was forced to execute an “aggressive” evasive manoeuvre to avoid a midair collision with the B-52 bomber over North Dakota.

According to reports, the Embraer E175 jet — en route from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Minot International Airport in North Dakota — came harrowingly close to colliding with the military jet.

The flight avoided a US Air Force B-52 bomber, according to a report.

Aviation A2Z reported that passengers and crew on the right side of the Delta aircraft could see the bomber from their windows, with passengers recalling how the atmosphere on board was relatively calm, despite the plane making a series of sharp manoeuvres.

“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,’” one passenger said, as reported by The Post.

In a message from the cockpit following the near-miss and upon landing safely, the pilot explained that “nobody told” him of the bomber’s location.

The flight avoided a US Air Force B-52 bomber, according to a report.

“For those of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the aeroplane kind of sort of coming at us,” the pilot said on the overhead speaker of the cabin.

“Nobody told us about it and so we continued … there’s no radar here … so the tower does everything visually. And so they said ‘report about six miles from the airport’. We did that, and I think they realised the spacing wasn’t going to work.

“He [traffic control] said turn right, I looked over and there was an aeroplane which those of you on the right-hand side [would’ve seen].

“I thought it was like a small aeroplane … he said turn right, I said there’s an aeroplane, he said turn left and then by the time we went back for clearance we looked over and that [B-52] was sort of coming on a converging course with us.

“Given his speed as he was military, I don’t know how fast they were going but they were a lot faster than us.”

The plane’s flight path to avoid disaster.

The pilot said the safest thing for him to do was to turn behind him, resulting in an “aggressive manoeuvre”.

“It caught me by surprise … this is not normal at all. I don’t know why they didn’t give us a heads up at all.”

The pilot said the airport base does have a radar, but nobody advised him that there was a B-52 bomber jet in the pattern.

“It was not fun … and I do apologise for it,” he said.

Relieved passengers were heard clapping and cheering the pilot after he’d finished his message to the cabin.

According to the New York Post, Minot Air Force Base houses the 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing, as well as a large number of US Air Force equipment and vehicles, including 26 B-52 bombers.

The passenger plane was a Delta Connection regional jet being operated by SkyWest Airlines.

“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. We are investigating the incident,” SkyWest said in a statement on Sunday.

– with New York Post