A JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted its ascent to keep away from colliding with a US Air Force refueling tanker on Friday, and the pilot blamed the army plane for crossing his path.
“We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot stated, in accordance with a recording of his dialog with air site visitors management. “They passed directly in our flight path. … They don’t have their transponder turned on, it’s outrageous.”
The incident concerned JetBlue Flight 1112 from Curaçao, which is simply off the coast of Venezuela, en path to New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. It comes because the US army has stepped up its anti-drug-trafficking marketing campaign within the Caribbean and can also be seeking to increase pressure on Venezuela’s authorities.
“We just had traffic pass directly in front of us within 5 miles of us — maybe 2 or 3 miles — but it was an air-to-air refueler from the United States Air Force and he was at our altitude,” the pilot stated. “We had to stop our climb.” The pilot stated the Air Force plane then headed into Venezuelan air house.
According to the air site visitors recording, the controller responded to the pilot, “It has been outrageous with the unidentified aircraft within our air.”
Derek Dombrowski, a spokesperson for JetBlue, stated Sunday: “We have reported this incident to federal authorities and will participate in any investigation.” He added, “Our crewmembers are trained on proper procedures for various flight situations, and we appreciate our crew for promptly reporting this situation to our leadership team.”
The Pentagon referred the Associated Press to the Air Force for remark. The Air Force didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The Federal Aviation Administration final month issued a warning to US aircraft urging them to “exercise caution” when in Venezuelan airspace, “due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela.”