Passenger carriers narrowly avoid collision with military planes near Venezuela
A JETBLUE AIRWAYS pilot said he narrowly avoided a “midair collision” with a U.S. military aircraft that entered his flight path while the JetBlue plane was climbing after take off from Curaçao on Friday, according to the airline and ATC recordings.
The JetBlue pilot is heard telling the air traffic controller they had to stop their climb after a U.S. Air Force air refueller entered its flight path at the same altitude “directly in front” and “within five miles” of the JetBlue plane.
The pilot said the military aircraft was headed towards the Venezuelan airspace and the air traffic controller noted not seeing the military aircraft on their end, as it had the transponder off and was not transmitting its location.
“We almost had a mid-air collision up here,” the pilot said, according to ATC recordings. “They passed directly in our flight path…. They don’t have their transponder turned on; it’s outrageous.”
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