Air traffic controllers at North Dakota’s Minot International Airport failed to alert a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber crew about a nearby SkyWest passenger aircraft, resulting in a near miss, the military said in a statement released Monday evening.
The incident occurred Friday but disaster was avoided after the pilot of SkyWest Flight 3788, en route from Minneapolis to Minot, spotted the bomber in time and executed a go-around maneuver, safely avoiding a collision before landing at the airport.
According to the Air Force, the B-52, on a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved flyover of the North Dakota State Fair, was in contact with both Radar Approach Control (RAPCON) and the Minot tower before the flyover, providing position updates starting at 7:10 p.m.
At 7:40 p.m., the crew reported exiting a holding pattern about 12 miles east of the fairgrounds. Three minutes later, RAPCON transferred responsibility to the tower, which cleared the bomber to proceed westbound after the flyover, without alerting the crew to the inbound SkyWest Flight 3788.
“The tower did not advise of the inbound commercial aircraft,” the Air Force said.
“The B-52 crossed the fairgrounds show center at 7:50 p.m. and proceeded west as directed to clear Minot International Tower’s airspace before returning to Minot Air Force Base,” it added.
The FAA is already investigating the incident.
