March 29 (UPI) — A Delta Air Lines flight had a reported close call with a U.S. Air Force jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, close call that comes months after a deadly crash nearby.
The incident Friday occurred just south of the airport, near the location that an American Airlines jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River two months ago. All 67 aboard both aircraft died in what was the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster since 2001.
New restrictions were put in place for helicopters and other military aircraft around the airport in the weeks after the crash.
At 2:55 p.m. on Friday, Delta’s Airbus A319 was departing Reagan when it came close to an Air Force T-38 Talon jet, which are used for pilot training, CNN reported. The aircraft is a two-seat plane manufactured by Northrop from 1961-72 that goes at supersonic speeds.
Alarms went off in the cockpit of the Airbus and the Collision Avoidance System kicked in. On board were three flight crew members, and 131 passengers on board. No injuries were reported.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people,” Delta said in a statement. “That’s why the flight crew followed procedures to maneuver the aircraft as instructed.”
The Air Force has not commented on the incident.
CNN reported the U.S. Air Force T-38 Talon took off and landed at Langley Air Force Basein Hampton, Va., which is about 100 miles from Reagan airport.
Four U.S. Air Force T-38 Talons were in the area heading to Arlington National Cemetery for a flyover, the FAA told CBS News. One of the T-38 jets was at an altitude of 875 feet, according FlightRadar.com.
Delta Flight 2983 arrived as scheduled at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport gate at 5:46 p.m., 10 minutes late following 20 minutes on a taxiway at Reagan National.
After Friday’s near miss, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democratic, wrote on X on Saturday: “Unbelievably dangerous and thank God people are safe. My first call to Department of Defense today: why are your planes flying 500 feet below passenger jets full of Minnesotans headed from DCA to my state.”
The website LiveATC.net captured communications from the cockpit.
“On that departure … was there an actual aircraft about 500 ft below us as we came off of DCA,” the Delta pilot asked air traffic controllers.
“Delta 2983, affirmative,” the departure controller responded.
The National Traffic Safety Board said investigators found more than 15,000 occurrences for close proximity events between commercial airplanes and helicopters between 2021 and 2024. Aircraft were within one nautical mile and in 85 cases two aircraft were separated by only 1,500 feet vertically and 200 feet laterally.