Horrifying audio transcript reveals pilot's reaction after jet nearly collides with plane carrying 137 passengers at Reagan National Airport
Over 150 plane and helicopter accidents have occurred with US aircraft this year, and that number nearly increased by two when a military jet came perilously close to striking a commercial airliner. A recently disclosed transcript reveals the pilot's alarming reaction when his aircraft, carrying 137 passengers, almost collided with a US Air Force jet near Reagan National Airport - the same location where a military helicopter crashed into an American Airlines plane on January 29. The earlier catastrophe in Washington DC marked the USA's most fatal aviation disaster since 2001, with all 67 individuals involved perishing in the crash.
This incident began a series of prominent accidents, placing the aviation industry under intense scrutiny. The recent near-miss involved a Delta Air Lines aircraft that had just departed from Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, when cockpit alarms activated, indicating another aircraft had flown dangerously near the commercial plane.
Frightening audio transcription captured the exact conversation following the incident. On LiveATC.net, an air traffic control communications site, the pilot asked: "Was there an actual aircraft about 500 feet below us?" The air traffic controller simply confirmed: "Affirmative."
The military jet passed the Delta plane, which had taken off minutes before the incident, at speeds exceeding 350mph, according to FlightRadar 24. The Federal Aviation Administration explained that the jet had been scheduled for a flyover at Arlington National Cemetery.
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar expressed her concern on Twitter: "Unbelievably dangerous and thank God people are safe. My first call to Department of Defense tomorrow: why are your planes flying 500 feet below passenger jets full of Minnesotans headed from DCA to my state."
The FAA issued a statement on Friday (March 28): "The Delta aircraft received an onboard alert that another aircraft was nearby. Air traffic controllers issued corrective instructions to both aircraft."
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports 153 US civil aviation accidents already this year - 23 involving fatalities. Two days after the deadly Washington DC crash, a medical jet crashed in Philadelphia, killing all six people aboard. Six days later on February 6, a plane with 10 passengers disappeared over Alaska, with wreckage later found and all passengers confirmed dead. On February 10 in Arizona, a private plane owned by Vince Neil collided with another aircraft at Scottsdale Airport as it arrived from Austin, Texas.
Neil was not on board. One week later (February 17), 80 passengers aboard a Delta Air Lines flight that crashed and turned upside down in Toronto were safely removed from the aircraft.
