A JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curacao halted its ascent on Friday to avoid colliding with a US Air Force refueling tanker, and the airline 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, the AP reports. "They passed directly in our flight path. ... They don't have their transponder turned on, it's outrageous."
JetBlue Flight 1112 was going from Curacao, which is just off the coast of Venezuela, to New York City's JFK airport. "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 said the Air Force plane then headed into Venezuelan airspace. The US military has stepped up its military presence in the region, saying the goal is to stop shipments of illegal drugs; it's also to increase pressure on Venezuela's government. President Trump said last month that US airlines should consider the skies over Venezuela closed to them.
According to the air traffic recording, the controller responded to the pilot, "It has been outrageous with the unidentified aircraft within our air." Having the transponder turned off means the Air Force craft would not have been detectable by JetBlue's Traffic Collision Avoidance System, per Simply Flying, and the controller said it didn't show up on airport screens, either. A spokesman for JetBlue said Sunday, "We have reported this incident to federal authorities and will participate in any investigation." The Pentagon and Air Force did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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