SkyWest flight does “aggressive maneuver” to avoid a B-52 military aircraft, pilot says

The pilot of a SkyWest flight told passengers Friday night that he performed an “aggressive maneuver” to avoid an apparent B-52 military aircraft in-flight as he came in for a landing in Minot, North Dakota — then apologized for the sudden move.

The airline said in a statement that SkyWest flight 3788, operating as Delta Connection on a flight from Minneapolis, “landed safely in Minot after being cleared for approach by the tower but performing a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path. We are investigating the incident.”

In a video recorded by passenger Monica Green and obtained by CBS News, the pilot is heard calmly announcing to passengers: “For those of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the airplane kinda sorta coming at us. Nobody told us about it and so we continued.”

The pilot explained that the tower at the Minot airport doesn’t have radar, so air traffic controllers do everything visually.

The pilot said he “saw the airplane that was kind of coming on a converging course with us.”

“Given his speed,” the pilot continued, “it was a military (aircraft). I don’t know how fast they were going but they were a lot faster than us. I thought the safest thing to do was to turn behind it. So, sorry about the aggressive maneuver. It caught me by surprise.

“This is not normal at all. I don’t know why they didn’t give us a heads-up because the (nearby) Air Force base does have radar and nobody said, ‘Hey, there’s also a B-52 in the pattern.'”

The Air Force confirmed in a statement to CBS News on Monday that a B-52 aircraft assigned to Minot Air Force Base was operating in the area at the time, having conducted a flyover of the North Dakota State Fair.

“Long story short, it was not fun but I do apologize for it and I thank you for everything. It was not a fun day at work today,” the pilot added, at which point the passengers started applauding.

SkyWest said the flight had 76 passengers and four crew members on board.

An Air Force spokesperson told CBS News, “We are aware of the recent reporting regarding commercial and Air Force aircraft operating in airspace around Minot International Airport. We are currently looking into the matter.”

Green, the passenger who recorded the video, said that as the aircraft was descending, she felt it jolt to the right.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it is investigating the incident. “Air traffic services were provided by the Minot air traffic control tower, which is run by a private company. These controllers are not FAA employees,” the agency said.

Kris Van Cleave

contributed to this report.