A commercial plane and US Air Force jet nearly collided near Reagan National Airport (DCA) on Friday afternoon, just two months after a midair collision killed 67 people over the Potomac River.
Delta Flight 2983 was taking off from DCA around 3:15 pm, carrying 136 passengers headed to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, when its onboard warning system alerted the crew to another aircraft nearby, CNN reported. The Air Force T-38, a high-speed training jet, was flying at more than 350 mph and just 800 feet above the ground when it passed near the Delta plane, according to tracking data from FlightRadar24.
Air traffic controllers quickly issued corrective instructions to both aircraft to avoid a collision, and the Delta pilots followed standard procedures. "Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people," said Delta spokesperson Morgan Durrant.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the close call and has launched an investigation. The incident occurred south of the airport, near the location where an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided on January 29, leaving no survivors.
At a congressional hearing Thursday, lawmakers pressed aviation officials on why close calls between military and civilian aircraft at DCA have gone unchecked. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) previously identified over 15,000 instances of near misses between commercial planes and helicopters from 2021 to 2024, leading the FAA to implement new safety measures.
Despite these changes, Friday's incident highlights ongoing concerns about airspace safety near the nation's capital. The Air Force has not yet commented on the event.
Originally published on Latin Times
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