A civilian pilot was forced to perform what has been described as an “aggressive go-around” to avoid a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber near Minot, North Dakota.
The article has been updated with the official statement from the U.S. Air Force.
On July 18, 2025, a Delta Embraer E175, operated by SkyWest Airlines as flight DL3788 from Minneapolis to Minot, North Dakota, was forced to perform an “aggressive go-around” to avoid a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress operating in the vicinity of Minot. The incident occurred during the E175’s final approach to Minot International Airport, which shares airspace with Minot Air Force Base, home to the 5th Bomb Wing equipped with B-52 bombers.
According to passengers, the pilot initiated a sudden climb and tight turn without warning from air traffic control or cockpit alerts. The crew later explained the maneuver was necessary to avoid a B-52 that appeared in the approach path with no advance notice. Here’s what the pilot said on intercom, based on the video filmed by one of the passengers using their smartphone:
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.. And air traffic…. And there’s no radar here. So the tower is controlled… Excuse me, the tower does everything visually. And so they said report about a six mile, six miles from the airport. So we did that. I think he realized that the spacing wasn’t going to work and he said turn right.
And I looked over and there was an airplane, which those of you on the right-hand side, I thought it was a small airplane like the ones you see at the airport right now doing touch-and-gos. And he said, turn right. I said, there’s an airplane over there. And he says, turn left. And then by the time we went back to clearance, looked over and saw the airplane that was kind of coming on converging course with us. So given his speed, it was a military, I don’t know how fast they were going, but they were a lot faster than us. I felt it was the safest thing to do to turn behind him.
So sorry about the aggressive maneuver. It caught me by surprise. This is not not normal at all. I don’t know why they didn’t give us a heads up because the air force base does have radar and nobody said, “hey, there’s also a B-52 in the pattern.”
Long story short, it was not fun, but I do apologize for it and thank you for understanding. It was not a fun day at work. Have a nice evening.
Flight tracking data shows the aircraft climbing abruptly before circling and returning for a safe landing. One passenger described the maneuver as jarring but said the cabin remained calm. “I felt like I was gaslighting myself… we took a really hard turn,” she recalled. The pilot’s candor in explaining the incident to those on board was met with applause.
On Friday (Jul 18), a Delta Connection E175 had a near miss with a USAF B-52 on approach to Minot Airport (North Dakota, US). The airline pilot was forced to make an “aggressive maneuver” to avoid impact.
🎥 Video: @aviationbrk
📊 Flight data: https://t.co/hwU3Kdnd0b
Updates to… pic.twitter.com/gt2yotiUlP
— AirNav Radar (@AirNavRadar) July 20, 2025
The U.S. Air Force confirmed that the B-52 was performing a flyover for the North Dakota State Fair. Both the FAA and SkyWest have launched investigations into the incident to determine what went wrong in the coordination between civilian and military traffic.
U.S. Air Force statement
Minot Air Force Base’s Public Affairs released a statement on the B-52 flyover at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds, quoted here:
On Friday, July 18, at approximately 7:50 p.m., a B-52 bomber from Minot AFB conducted a flyover at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds. This flyover was a special event recognizing the city of Minot as a ‘Great American Defense Community,’ an honor that highlights the city’s strong support for the military.
The flyover was planned in advance and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. This included the FAA’s local Flight Standards District Office, Minot International Airport air traffic control personnel, and Minot Approach Control (RAPCON).
At approximately 7:10 p.m. prior to the flyover, the B-52 crew contacted Minot Approach (RAPCON) to prepare for the flyover. Required checklists were completed, and the crew remained in contact with Minot Approach as it flew to its holding point 12 miles east of the fairgrounds. While holding, the B-52 crew communicated the flyover plan to both RAPCON and Minot International Airport’s air traffic control tower.
At 7:40 p.m., the B-52 crew advised Minot Approach they were departing the holding point for the fairgrounds.
Minot Approach directed the B-52 crew at 7:43 p.m. to contact Minot International Airport’s air traffic control. The B-52 crew contacted Minot International Airport tower and the tower provided instructions to continue 2 miles westbound after the flyover. The tower did not advise of the inbound commercial aircraft.
The B-52 crossed the fairgrounds show center at 7:50 p.m. and proceeded west as directed to clear Minot International Tower’s airspace before returning to Minot AFB.
The FAA is investigating the incident.
