A commercial airliner had to stop climbing to avoid smashing into a military refueling plane that wasn't broadcasting its location.
A JetBlue flight from Curacao to New York narrowly avoided a midair collision with a US Air Force refueling tanker on Friday, the New York Post reported.
The pilot of JetBlue Flight 1112, heading to JFK Airport, didn't mince words when he got on the radio. "We almost had a midair collision up here," he told air traffic control, according to a recording released Sunday. The Air Force tanker passed within two to five miles of the commercial jet at the same altitude, forcing the JetBlue crew to halt their ascent.
Military Plane Had Transponder Turned Off
Here's the kicker: the military aircraft didn't have its transponder turned on. "They passed directly in our flight path. … They don't have their transponder turned on, it's outrageous," the JetBlue pilot said. Without that transponder, the refueling tanker was essentially invisible to civilian aircraft trying to avoid it.
The controller's response was equally telling. "It has been outrageous with the unidentified aircraft within our air," the controller said. When your own air traffic control is calling the situation outrageous, you know something's gone seriously wrong with coordination.
The Air Force tanker was supporting a military buildup near Venezuela. The US military has launched nearly two dozen strikes targeting suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific, resulting in over 80 deaths. This pressure campaign aims to oust authoritarian Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Latest Strike Kills Four Near Venezuelan Coast
On Friday, the same day as the near-miss, the US military killed four individuals described as "narco-terrorists" in another strike on a boat trafficking drugs off the coast of Venezuela. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth posted about the operation on X. The tempo of these operations has clearly increased dramatically in recent weeks.
JetBlue spokesman Derek Dombrowski said the airline reported the incident to federal authorities. "We have reported this incident to federal authorities and will participate in any investigation," Dombrowski stated. He praised the crew for following proper procedures and promptly reporting what happened.
"Our crewmembers are trained on proper procedures for various flight situations, and we appreciate our crew for promptly reporting this situation to our leadership team," Dombrowski added. Translation: our pilots did everything right, and somebody else nearly caused a disaster.
FAA Previously Warned About Venezuelan Airspace
The Federal Aviation Administration warned US aircraft in November to "exercise caution" when in Venezuelan airspace due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity. Apparently, that warning needed to be sent to our own military as well. Coordination between military and civilian aviation is supposed to prevent exactly this kind of close call.
Curacao, where the JetBlue flight originated, sits just 40 miles off the northern coast of Venezuela. The Caribbean island is controlled by The Netherlands. Its proximity to Venezuela makes it a strategic location for both commercial flights and military operations in the region.
The Pentagon referred inquiries to the Air Force for comment. The Air Force didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. That silence is deafening when commercial passengers nearly became casualties of military operations that are supposed to protect Americans.
Questions Remain About Military Coordination
The incident raises serious questions about coordination between military operations and civilian air traffic. When an Air Force plane crosses directly into the path of a commercial airliner carrying passengers, something has broken down in the system. Transponders exist specifically to prevent these situations.
"We just had traffic pass directly in front of us within 5 miles of us — maybe 2 or 3 miles — but it was an air-to air-refueler from the United States Air Force and he was at our altitude," the pilot explained. Two to three miles sounds like a lot until you consider that both aircraft were traveling at hundreds of miles per hour. We had to stop our climb.
The military's aggressive posture against drug trafficking near Venezuela is entirely justified. Maduro's regime has turned Venezuela into a narco-state, and somebody needs to disrupt those operations. But nearly colliding with a passenger jet full of Americans isn't an acceptable side effect of that mission.
