NTSB preliminary report: B-52 bomber nearly hit two different aircraft, tower command confusion
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Civil Aviation Resource Network, August 29, 2025: ABC News reports that, according to information released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a passenger plane narrowly avoided a collision with a B-52 bomber over North Dakota last month. The bomber then narrowly avoided a collision with a small private plane while flying over Minot Airport.
Investigators released a preliminary report on Wednesday (August 27) on the July 19 incident, which occurred shortly after the bomber completed a flyover at the North Dakota State Fair in Minot. Delta Air Lines Flight 3788's close encounter with the bomber became widely known thanks to a passenger video that captured the pilot swerving to avoid the bomber and then informing passengers. However, the subsequent incident in which the B-52 came within a third of a mile of a small Piper aircraft has not been previously reported.
The Delta pilot told passengers that day that he was shocked to see the bomber looming to his right. The US Air Force also stated that air traffic controllers never informed the B-52 crew of the nearby passenger plane. Officials at the time stated that the flyover had been approved in advance by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the private air traffic control agency that oversees Minot Airport.
The NTSB's preliminary report did not determine the cause of the incident, but communication logs between the three aircraft and the Minot control tower controller on duty and at the FAA Regional Radar Center in Rapid City, South Dakota, indicate that the tower issued several confusing commands that day. Investigators are not expected to release their final report until next year.
As the B-52 and a Delta flight carrying 80 people converged on the airport from different directions, the controller instructed the Delta plane to circle to the right until the pilot informed him that he did not want to follow the command because the bomber was to his right, and then aborted the approach.
"I'm sorry about the aggressive maneuver just now. I was completely caught off guard," the pilot said in the video posted by the passenger. "This is completely out of character. I don't understand why they didn't warn me."
The controller had initially intended to issue a directive to the Delta flight, but mistakenly reported the bomber's call sign and had to cancel the directive.
Less than a minute after the B-52 crossed the passenger plane's path, it nearly struck another circling small aircraft.
Jeff Guzzetti, an aviation safety consultant and former NTSB and FAA crash investigator, noted that the controller issued the circling directive to the Delta and Piper aircraft too late to maintain a safe distance from the bomber.
Call logs show that local controllers called the regional FAA controller for clearance before issuing each directive. Guzzetti said it's unclear whether this additional approval process delayed the directive or whether the Minot controller simply failed to anticipate the aircraft's approach speed.
"Everything happened simultaneously, and the controller failed to effectively manage the situation," Guzzetti said. Minot Airport typically handles 18-24 flights per day, but at this time, three planes arrived simultaneously.
After the close call, all aircraft landed safely.