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A Delta Air Lines plane almost crashed into a US Air Force jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Friday, not far from where a deadly crash happened in January, killing 67 people. The Delta flight, heading to Minneapolis- St. Paul, had just taken off around 3 pm. when a warning system in the cockpit told the pilots to quickly change course to avoid hitting another plane. The Delta pilot asked air traffic control if there was really a plane just 500 feet below them. The controller said yes. The military jet had come from a base in Virginia.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the Delta plane got a warning about another aircraft nearby while four Air Force jets were flying to Arlington National Cemetery for a ceremony. Air traffic controllers gave both planes new instructions to avoid a crash. The FAA will look into what happened.

Delta Airlines issues statement

Delta said their pilots did the right thing. "Safety is our top priority, so the crew followed the rules to steer the plane as told,” a Delta spokesperson said. The plane had 131 passengers, two pilots, and three flight attendants, and it landed on time in Minneapolis at 4:36 p.m.

This close call happened just weeks after a crash on January 29 in almost the same area, where an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter hit each other, killing everyone on both. The National Transportation Safety Board found that thousands of near-misses have happened near this airport between 2021 and 2024.

"Unbelievably dangerous"

Senator Amy Klobuchar, who represents Minnesota, called the incident "unbelievably dangerous and thank God people are safe. My first call to Department of Defense tomorrow: why are your planes flying 500 feet (150 meters) below passenger jets full of Minnesotans." The Pentagon said it was aware of reports about Friday's incident but did not have an immediate comment.
Delta, which said there were five crew on board and 131 passengers, said "The flight crew followed procedures to manoeuvre the aircraft as instructed... We will cooperate with regulators and aviation stakeholders in any review of this flight."

CNN, citing audio captured by the website LiveATC.net, reported the Delta pilot asked controllers if there was "an actual aircraft about 500 ft below us" as the commercial jet left the airport. The controller responded "affirmative," CNN said.

Flight safety

The January collision raised question about the military's failure to use a key safety system known as ADS-B on helicopter training flights. The FAA has since imposed permanent restrictions on non-essential helicopter operations around Reagan and barred helicopters and passenger jets from flying near each other.

The FAA's actions followed two urgent safety recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board after the collision. Last month, a Southwest Airlines flight was less than 200 feet behind a business jet when the Southwest pilot aborted the landing and made an emergency manoeuvre to narrowly avoid a collision at Chicago Midway Airport.

(With inputs from agency)

Also Read: VIDEO: Newly Released Footage Shows Chilling Moment Of Delta Airlines Flight Crash