US Airlines Pilot’s Skillful Manoeuvres Prevent Crash with Air Force Bomber

Photo Credits: Simply Flying

In what can be described as an adrenaline-fuelled experience, a pilot flying a commercial airliner from SkyWest narrowly avoided a collision with a United States Air Force B-52 bomber while landing in Minot, North Dakota, last Friday.  

According to the SkyWest pilot, he had taken off from Minneapolis-St Paul en route to Minot and had been cleared to land when hie caught sight of the bomber on his starboard side. 

In a video recorded from inside the SkyWest flight, now circulating on social media, the pilot can be heard talking on the radio that he had no prior information about the bomber’s presence.  

“I thought it was a small aeroplane, like the ones you see at the airport right now doing touch-and-go’s. And he said ‘turn right,’ and I said, ‘There’s an aeroplane over there,’ and he says ‘turn left,’ and by the time we read back the clearance, we looked over and saw the aeroplane that was kind of coming on a convergent course with us,” the pilot explained his statement.  

Photo Credits: Reuters

Believing the safest course of action would be to manoeuvre behind the bomber, the pilot executed a series of aggressive turns, later describing it as “not a fun day at work.” 

A B-52H bomber, from the Fifth Bomber Wing based at the Minot Air Force Base, was conducting a flyover over the North Dakota State Fair at the time.  

A passenger on the flight also shared her account of the incident: "It was really quiet. No one stood up right away like people normally do. At the airport, I heard some people saying their friends saw it from the ground. The other plane nearly hit us, and it went so low it passed under us."  

SkyWest Airlines confirmed that the pilot had been cleared to land but, upon spotting the bomber in close proximity, took necessary action to avoid any mishap.