What was supposed to be a routine 90-minute flight from Minneapolis–Saint Paul to Minot, North Dakota, quickly turned into a heart-stopping experience when a Delta Connection pilot was forced to make a sudden, sharp maneuver in mid-air.
The reason? The plane had come dangerously close to colliding with a massive military aircraft — a B-52 bomber.
Passengers on board the regional jet had no idea at first just how close they came to disaster.
But what they did know was that the plane had suddenly started twisting and turning in a way that felt anything but normal.
Passengers Felt Something Was Wrong — Then the Pilot Spoke
Monica Green, one of the passengers sitting at the front of the plane, told KMOT News that it was impossible not to notice the abrupt and aggressive movement of the aircraft.
“You feel everything up there,” she said.
“Those turns were not normal. You could tell something wasn’t right.”
According to Green, the moment grew even more unsettling when the pilot came on the intercom and said, “Sorry everybody, I’ll explain everything when we land safely.”
His tone, she said, left many with the eerie sense that a safe landing wasn’t guaranteed.
A Calm Cabin in a Chaotic Situation
Despite the intense swerves and the cryptic announcement, Green said the cabin stayed oddly calm.
“We all just kind of looked at each other and stayed quiet,” she recalled.
Some passengers, quietly panicking inside, began texting loved ones — just in case.
The plane continued to circle Minot International Airport several times before finally landing.
Green said she could feel the rising tension from the crew.
The pilot, while trying to maintain composure, was clearly under stress as he later explained what had happened.
The Near Miss With a B-52 Bomber
Once safely on the ground, the pilot addressed everyone onboard and shared the shocking truth: their plane had nearly collided with a military aircraft — specifically, a B-52 bomber that had taken off from Minot Air Force Base.
He explained that he received no prior warning about any nearby traffic from air traffic control.
Given the military base’s sophisticated radar capabilities, that lack of communication struck him as highly unusual.
Pilot’s Fast Thinking Prevents Potential Catastrophe
The Delta flight, operated by SkyWest under the number DL3788, had been cleared for approach when the pilot suddenly spotted the bomber in their path.
In that critical moment, he decided the safest option was to turn sharply behind the military jet.
Footage later shared online by Monica Green showed the pilot calmly explaining his decision.
“They were a lot faster than us,” he told passengers. “I felt it was safer to go behind them.”
He apologized for the “aggressive maneuver” and emphasized that this kind of situation was not normal. “Not a fun day at work,” he added.
A Moment of Relief — and a Round of Applause
After his announcement, the passengers, still processing what they had just avoided, responded with applause — a collective expression of relief that they had landed safely.
Green later posted a clip of the pilot’s in-flight address to her Instagram, praising his professionalism and thanking him for his quick thinking that likely saved their lives.
She said that although his voice was steady, you could tell he had been shaken.
“He was almost shaking, trying to find the right words… but it felt good that they weren’t going to brush it off.”
Confusion Still Surrounds the Incident
There’s still no official word on just how close the two aircraft actually came to each other, or whether any automatic warning systems inside the cockpit were triggered during the near miss. ABC News reports that details remain unclear for now.
Even after landing, Green and other passengers overheard nervous chatter in the airport terminal.
Some people said they had friends on the ground who saw the bomber pass shockingly close underneath the commercial jet.
“When we landed, it was really quiet. No one stood up like they normally do,” Green said.
“At the airport, I heard someone say the other plane nearly hit us — and went so low, it passed under us.”
SkyWest Launches Official Investigation
In response to the incident, SkyWest confirmed that the flight did in fact perform a go-around during its approach to Minot due to another aircraft suddenly appearing in its path.
“SkyWest flight 3788, operating as Delta Connection from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Minot, North Dakota, landed safely in Minot after being cleared for approach by the tower but performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path,” the airline said in a statement.
“We are investigating the incident.”
The Daily Mail has reportedly reached out to both Delta and Minot Air Force Base for further comment.
A Normal Flight Turned Into a Near-Disaster in North Dakota
This incident is a chilling reminder of how quickly routine flights can turn dangerous — and how much trust we place in pilots to make life-saving decisions in seconds.
Thanks to one Delta pilot’s quick judgment, what could have been a catastrophic accident became a tense story with a safe ending.
Passengers aboard that flight may never forget how close they came — and how calm their pilot stayed through it all.