Washington– A JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted its climb to avoid colliding with a US Air Force refueling tanker on Friday, with the pilot blaming the military plane for crossing his path.
“We were about to collide mid-air here,” the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of his conversation with air traffic control. “They passed directly into our flight path… Their transponder wasn’t turned on, which is outrageous.”
The incident involved JetBlue Flight 1112 from Curacao, which is located off the coast of Venezuela, en route to JFK Airport in New York City. This comes at a time when the US military has intensified its anti-drug activities in the Caribbean and is also seeking to Increased pressure On the government of Venezuela.
“We had traffic passing right in front of us about 5 miles away from us — maybe 2 or 3 miles — but it was a United States Air Force air refueling plane and it was at our altitude,” the pilot said. “We had to stop our climbing.” The pilot said that the Air Force plane then headed into Venezuelan airspace.
“We have reported this incident to federal authorities and will participate in any investigation,” JetBlue spokesman Derek Dombrowski said Sunday. “Our crew members are trained on proper procedures for different flight situations, and we appreciate our crew for quickly informing our command team of this situation,” he added.
The Pentagon referred The Associated Press to the Air Force for comment. The Air Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.