Delta Connection pilot takes evasive action to avoid midair collision with B-52

A Delta Connection regional jet narrowly avoided a potentially catastrophic collision with a US Air Force B-52 bomber above North Dakota on 18 July 2025, as reported by Mateusz Maszczynski of Paddle Your Own Kanoo and confirmed by passenger accounts.

Delta flight DL-3788, operated by Skywest, was traveling from Minneapolis to Minot Air Force Base when its pilots suddenly performed an emergency avoidance maneuver. According to an announcement made in-flight by the Embraer 175’s captain, the jet encountered a converging B-52 bomber, prompting a sharp course correction.

“For those of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the airplane kind of sort of coming at us… nobody told us about it, and so we continued,” the captain explained over the intercom.

Air traffic control at Minot Airport relies on visual separation due to a lack of radar, increasing the risk of miscommunication. Controllers initially instructed the Delta crew to turn right to maintain separation, then abruptly issued a left turn, putting the regional jet on a convergent path with the B-52. The pilot, assessing the military jet’s far higher speed, made a split-second decision to turn behind it, later apologizing to passengers for the “aggressive maneuver,” and expressing concern that military traffic was not communicated in advance.

Passengers commended the pilot for his candid explanation, a rarity in emergency situations. The incident prompts renewed scrutiny of coordination between military and civilian airspace in areas like Minot, where commercial and strategic operations overlap.