A pilot flying a Delta Air Lines regional jet on Friday apologized to his passengers after making a hard turn to avoid colliding with a US Air Force B-52 bomber, audio from the incident shows.

The incident occurred on SkyWest Flight 3788, which was operating as a Delta Connection flight, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Minot, North Dakota, SkyWest said in a statement.

The flight 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,” the statement read.

  • rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    7 days ago

    OK, I get it. There’s FAA and then there’s Air Force? Is there also Army and Marines and Navy? Why don’t they all combine and make one super Voltron of airspace management?

    • grysbok@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      2·
      7 days ago

      To quote myself

      I’m not sure why it is like that nowadays. I guess in the beginning of ATC in the US it made sense for air bases to control the nearby airspace, and it probably just went from there, with maybe consolidation of towers as a cost-cutting measure along the way.

      Also,

      IIRC, the Army and Navy also operate their own ATC Yes, there is also Marine-run ATC.

      Spitballing:

      • institutions don’t like losing control
      • Many towers are located on military bases
      • military air traffic controllers need to learn the ropes someplace that isn’t an aircraft carrier or active deployment