A now viral recording by a SkyWest passenger revealed a near miss between a regional Delta Connection flight from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Minot, North Dakota, and a B-52 bomber over Minot, due in part to the airport's visual-only air traffic control.
The recording is audio of the pilot apologizing for his "aggressive maneuver" and explaining what happened.
It was posted to TikTok by "Andrea" (@azamora616) with the caption:
"*sent to me by my sister . She was on the flight and made this recording *UPDATE* this was [SkyWest] flight 3788 on 07/18/2025"
Included was a tag for Delta, which is the major airline affiliated with SkyWest, and the hashtags "plane," "nearmiss," and "flight3788."
You can watch the video here:
The passenger, Monica Green, later posted the video herself on Instagram, which NBC News verified as authentic.
It was captioned:
"This was after landing in Minot, ND. Shout out to this @delta pilot for keeping everyone safe."
Green told ABC News:
"All of a sudden we just jerk really hard to the right—we just kept taking more turns and more turns and he gets on the announcement and says, 'I'm sorry everybody, I'll explain everything once we've landed safely.'"
Her recording is that explanation.
She captured the pilot saying:
"Given his speed––I don't know how fast they were going, but they were a lot faster than us. I felt it was the safest thing to do to turn behind it."
"So, sorry about the aggressive maneuver, it caught me by surprise, this is not normal at all. I don't know why they didn't give us a heads up, because the Air Force base does have radar."
"Long story short, it was not fun, but I do apologize for it and thank you for understanding."
The pilot added, minimizing the probably terrifying view of a B-52 on a converging course with his plane:
"Uh, not a...not a fun day at work."
The B-52H Stratofortress bomber is one of the Air Force's largest aircraft, second only to military transport planes.
It boasts a wingspan of 185 feet (56.4 meters), a length of 159 feet, 4 inches (48.5 meters), and stands 40 feet, 8 inches (12.4 meters) tall. The aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight when fully loaded with bombs of 488,000 pounds (219,600 kilograms).
The wings are so long they droop when not in flight.
Another TikToker, Flight.Simulator.Fantasy (@flightsimstuff) provided a crude animation of the maneuver, a "go-around," being described by the pilot.
You can watch their video with the pilot's words displayed on screen here:
Flight.Simulator.Fantasy's caption gives more details of what happened, noting:
"A Delta Connection flight operated by [SkyWest] had a tense moment in the skies above North Dakota on Friday when it was forced to take an 'aggressive maneuver' to avoid a mid-air collision with a military B-52 Stratofortress."
"The Embraer E175LR was on approach to Minot International Airport, where the airspace is controlled visually due to the lack of radar coverage. The incident occurred as the aircraft neared the airport, with no prior warning from air traffic control about the presence of military aircraft in the area."
"Shortly after landing safely, the pilot addressed passengers over the intercom and provided a detailed explanation. 'Those of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the airplane kind of, sort of coming at us,' he said."
Their caption continued:
"He explained that the tower at Minot operates visually and had instructed them to report six miles out, but as they followed those directions, the situation quickly changed. After being told to turn right and then left, the crew spotted the B-52 on a converging course. 'Given his speed… I felt it was the safest thing to do to turn behind him,' the pilot said."
"He also voiced his frustration with the lack of coordination, noting that although the base has radar, no one alerted them about the presence of the bomber. 'This is not normal at all… Not a fun day at work today,' he admitted, apologizing to passengers for the sudden maneuver."
"Fortunately, the flight concluded without injuries, but the incident has raised concerns about communication and safety protocols near joint-use airfields like Minot."
In a statement Sunday evening, the United States Air Force said it was "looking into" reports of a military aircraft operating in the same airspace as a commercial plane.
The Air Force confirmed a B-52H Stratofortress bomber assigned to Minot Air Force Base conducted a flyover of the North Dakota State Fair on Friday evening.
People were grateful the flight didn't end in tragedy.
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While SkyWest and the unidentified pilot drew praise, people had questions for the military and the federal air traffic control system.
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And some rightfully asked why this information was being discovered on TikTok and Instagram instead of an official Air Force or Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) press release.
Both the Air Force and the FAA reported they are investigating the incident.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are investigating two other near misses involving military aircraft, one in March and one in May. All three of these known events occurred after the January 29 fatal collision between a commercial plane and an Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport.
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