In brief
On Friday, a JetBlue flight traveling from Curaçao to New York City narrowly avoided a collision with a U.S. Air Force refueling tanker. The JetBlue pilot reported that the tanker crossed directly into their flight path without its transponder on, prompting immediate action to halt the ascent. This incident comes amid heightened U.S. military activity in the Caribbean, particularly in relation to Venezuela. JetBlue has reported the situation to federal authorities for investigation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted its ascent to avoid colliding with a U.S. Air Force refueling tanker on Friday, and the pilot blamed the military plane for crossing his path.
“We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of his conversation with air traffic control. “They passed directly in our flight path. ... They don’t have their transponder turned on, it’s outrageous.”
The incident involved JetBlue Flight 1112 from Curaçao, which is just off the coast of Venezuela, en route to New York City’s JFK airport. It comes as the U.S. military has stepped up its drug interdiction activities in the Caribbean and is also seeking to pressure Venezuela’s government.
“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 said. “We had to stop our climb.” The pilot noted that the Air Force plane then headed into Venezuelan airspace.
Derek Dombrowski, a spokesman for JetBlue, stated, “We have reported this incident to federal authorities and will participate in any investigation.” He added that the crew is trained on proper procedures for various flight situations and expressed appreciation for their prompt reporting of the incident.
The Pentagon referred inquiries to the Air Force, which had not commented immediately. The Federal Aviation Administration had recently issued a warning to U.S. aircraft to “exercise caution” when navigating Venezuelan airspace due to rising military activity in the region. The air traffic controller acknowledged in response to the pilot's report that it has become problematic with unidentified aircraft in the area.
Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.
