MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – UPDATE (7/20/25 4:41 P.M.): Monica Green says the incident occurred Friday night.
ORIGINAL STORY: A SkyWest Flight operating as a Delta connection between Minneapolis and Minot turned into a tense and quiet ride for passengers after pilots took evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision with a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber.
According to AviationA2Z, the close call happened Saturday night aboard Delta flight DL3788, which was traveling from Minneapolis–Saint Paul (MSP) to Minot International Airport (MOT).
The Embraer E175 jet came dangerously close to a B-52 Stratofortress from Minot Air Force Base during the flight.
The pilot’s quick action prevented a possible collision, and passengers later thanked him for explaining what happened once the plane landed safely.
Monica Green, who was seated in the front of the plane, described the atmosphere on board as “weirdly calm,” even as the jet made sharp, unexpected turns.
“Honestly, everyone was weirdly calm. I felt like I was gaslighting myself, like maybe I was being crazy, because no one else was reacting,” Green said. “We took a really hard turn, and that’s when the pilot got on the intercom and said, ‘sorry everybody, I’ll explain everything when we land safely.’ the way he said it, it almost sounded like he was insinuating that landing safely might not be an option for a moment. We all just kind of looked at each other and stayed quiet.”
The flight circled the Minot Airport several times before landing. Green, who flies frequently for work, said she tracked the unusual flight pattern on an app while texting her husband.
“I texted my husband saying, ‘this is weird, we keep circling the airport, but we’re not landing.’ I was a little anxious, and when he said, ‘no, this is serious,’ I started to panic internally,” Green said.
Despite the tension, she praised the pilot for being transparent.
“He was very casual, if you can be casual about something like that, but you could tell he was stressed. He was almost shaking, trying to find the right words, but he was nice and detailed. It felt good that they weren’t just going to brush it off,” said Green.
Green didn’t see the bomber from her seat, but later overheard conversations in the small airport terminal.
“When we landed, it was really quiet. No one stood up right away like people normally do. At the airport, I heard some people saying their friends saw it from the ground. The other plane nearly hit us, and it went so low it passed under us,” Green said.
The Delta flight ultimately landed safely, but the unusual mid-air maneuver and calm, almost stunned reaction from passengers left a lasting impression.
“Maybe I was overreacting,” Green said. “But being in the very front row, you feel everything, and those hard turns, you could tell something wasn’t right.”
Your News Leader reached out to Delta who directed us to SkyWest. SkyWest provided the following statement late Saturday night:
“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. We are investigating the incident.”
We also reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration Saturday, who directed us to the U.S. military.
We reached out to public affairs with Minot Air Force Base for comment and will update you as we learn more.
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