A JetBlue flight departing from the small Caribbean island of Curaçao aborted its takeoff on Friday to avoid a potential collision with a U.S. Air Force refueling aircraft, after the pilot accused the military plane of entering its flight path.
“We almost had a mid-air collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of communications with air traffic control.
“They crossed directly into our flight path. They don’t have their transponder on — that’s unacceptable,” the pilot added.
The incident involved JetBlue Flight 1112 from Curaçao, located near the coast of Venezuela, bound for New York’s JFK Airport. The event occurred amid ongoing U.S. military air operations in the Caribbean targeting suspected drug traffickers, as well as increased pressure on the Venezuelan government.
“An aircraft crossed directly in front of us within five miles — possibly two or three miles — and it was a U.S. Air Force aerial refueling tanker at our altitude. We had to abort our takeoff,” the pilot said, adding that the military aircraft later entered Venezuelan airspace.
Meanwhile, JetBlue spokesperson Derek Dombrowski stated on Sunday:
“We have reported this incident to federal authorities and will participate in any investigation. Our crew members are trained in proper procedures for a wide range of flight situations, and we commend them for promptly reporting this incident to our management team.”
Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning to U.S. aircraft, urging them to “exercise caution” when operating in Venezuelan airspace “due to the deteriorating security situation and increased military activity in or around Venezuela.”
According to air traffic control recordings, the controller responded to the pilot by saying: “It was unacceptable to have an unidentified aircraft within our airspace.”
