A SkyWest Airlines Embraer E175 aircraft operating for Delta Air Lines was forced to perform a sharp evasive maneuver to avoid colliding with a B-52H bomber as it was on its final approach to Minot International Airport (MOT), North Dakota, on July 18, 2025.
According to the pilots of Delta Air Line Flight 3788, inbound from Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP), air traffic control had instructed them to turn right upon approach to Minot, when they realized there was another aircraft, which was identified as a B-52 bomber, on their flight path. The control tower then instructed them to turn left, but with the bomber converging on them, they had no option but to bank the aircraft to one side.
In a video clip posted on social media the pilot can be heard apologizing to passengers and explaining what had happened, as there had been no time to issue a warning. The drastic last-minute turn did not go unnoticed in the cabin.
After a fly-around, the aircraft was cleared for landing at Minot. No one was injured during the incident, although the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has opened an investigation.
Minot Air Force Base is home to the US Air force 5th Bomb Wing, one of only two bases in the United States (the other being Barksdale Air Force, in Louisiana) to host B-52s on a permanent basis.