An incredible incident that nearly developed into an aviation tragedy occurred last Friday (18/07) when a Delta aircraft nearly collided with a strategic B-52 bomber of the US Air Force.
Specifically, the Delta passenger aircraft, operated by airline SkyWest, narrowly avoided collision with an American military aircraft, a B-52, thanks to an “aggressive maneuver,” according to videos recorded by passengers and posted on social media.
The aircraft, which had taken off from Minneapolis, Minnesota (north), was preparing to land in Minot, North Dakota, when the pilot suddenly changed direction, surprising passengers.
“‘Turn right,’ the control tower told me. I said ‘there’s an aircraft there’ and the tower told me ‘turn left,'” the pilot can be heard saying in a video filmed by a passenger, which was posted on Instagram.
“This is not normal at all.”
A Delta regional jet on approach to Minot, North Dakota, made an “aggressive maneuver” to avoid a mid-air collision with a B-52 bomber, according to the Delta pilot. Minot is home to an Air Force base with B-52 bombers. https://t.co/pbbiLuQ4xD pic.twitter.com/snyaSNZxK8
— ABC News (@ABC) July 21, 2025
According to the pilot heard in the video, this airport does not have radar and the control tower operates visually.
“Given its speed, it was a military aircraft, I don’t know what speed it was flying, but it was much faster (than us). I thought the safest thing would be to make a turn. I apologize for that aggressive maneuver,” the captain continued.
Flight tracking website Flight Radar recorded the aircraft’s path, which made a large circle before landing.
Why the hell is an aircraft of that size flying with transponder off??
Disgusting? Who are they hiding from?
— Gaelen (@GaelenBet) July 20, 2025
