A Delta Airlines plane carrying 136 people nearly collided with a military jet Friday afternoon in a loss-of-separation incident outside the same DC airport where a mid-air collision took the lives of 67 people in January.
Delta Airlines Flight 2983 departed its gate from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at 2:55 p.m. local time and was cleared for takeoff to Minneapolis-St. Paul around 3:15 p.m
As the commercial plane headed south over the Potomac River, a group of four Northrop T38 Talon jets traveled west toward Arlington National Cemetery for a flyover.
A Delta Airlines flight prepares to land at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia with the US Capitol Dome in the background on Jan. 24, 2022. REUTERSThe Airbus A319 and the military jet crossed paths seconds apart, causing an onboard alert to go off inside the Delta flight cockpit.
“On that departure … was there an actual aircraft about 500 ft below us as we came off of DCA,” the commercial pilots asked air traffic controllers, CNN reported, citing audio from LiveATC.net.
“Affirmative,” a controller responded.
The alert received inside the Delta flight deck is called a “resolution advisory,” which warns pilots to make maneuvers to avoid dangerous flight paths.
The FAA is investigating the close call. FlightRadar24The warning system is part of the plane’s Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System, the outlet reported.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people,” a Delta spokesperson said. “That’s why the flight crew followed procedures to maneuver the aircraft as instructed.”
The Minnesota-bound plane was carrying 131 passengers, three flight attendants, and two pilots.
The Air Force jet holds two servicemembers.
US Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said she plans to question the Department of Defense on why military jets were flying 500 feet below commercial planes in active airspace.
“Unbelievably dangerous and thank God people are safe,” Klobuchar wrote on X.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate the incident.
The close call on Friday happened one day before the two-month anniversary of the American Airlines 5342 tragedy near the same airport.
On Jan. 29, the regional Bombardier CRJ700, operating for American Airlines, was approaching runway 33 at Reagan National after flying in from Wichita, Kansas, earlier in the day.
As it prepared to land, an Army UHC Black Hawk helicopter collided with the plane just before 9 p.m.
All 64 passengers and crew onboard the American Airlines flight and the three Army personnel on the helicopter were killed.
A T-38A Talon US Air Force Jet flies over Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 2016. Universal Images Group via GettyAboard the plane were skaters and family members of the Team USA Figure Skating community returning to the East Coast after a week at the Team USA Figure Skating National Championships held in Wichita
The crash questioned the military flight paths through the heavy traffic and tight airspace surrounding the nation’s capital.
After the deadly incident, the FAA imposed permanent restrictions on non-essential helicopter operations around Reagan and barred helicopters and passenger jets from flying near each other, based on the recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board.
With Post wires
