JetBlue Airways flags incident involving US military aircraft

Low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways has informed US authorities about an aviation incident involving a US Air Force refuelling aircraft.

The military plane, flying with its transponder switched off, crossed the flight path of a civilian aircraft, Caliber.Az reports, citing Associated Press (AP).

“We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of his exchange with air traffic control. “They passed directly in our flight path. ... They don’t have their transponder turned on, it’s outrageous.”

The incident occurred on December 12 and involved JetBlue Flight 1112, which had departed from the island of Curaçao and was en route to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The encounter took place near the coast of Venezuela, while the military aircraft was heading toward Venezuelan airspace.

In November, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning to American aircraft, urging them to “exercise caution” when operating in Venezuelan airspace due to a deteriorating security situation.

By Jeyhun Aghazada