A JetBlue plane suffered a scary near-miss with a U.S. Air Force aircraft over the skies of Venezuela.
"They don't have their transponder turned on, it's outrageous," the pilot told the air traffic controller in audio obtained by USA Today. "We almost had a midair collision up here."
"Safety remains a top priority, and we are working through the appropriate channels to assess the facts surrounding the situation," U.S. Southern Command spokesperson Colonel Manny Ortiz responded in a statement to NBC News.
NBC News reported that the "JetBlue flight was traveling from Curaçao off the coast of Venezuela" when the JetBlue pilot spotted the military plane. The plane was headed to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
How close did the planes get to one another? The New York Times reported that the planes "nearly collided" over the Caribbean.
The JetBlue pilot reported "that the military aircraft passed about 2 to 5 miles in front of the plane," NBC News noted.
"They passed directly in our flight path," the pilot said in air traffic control audio obtained by the network. "We had to stop our climb."
According to USA Today, the pilot also said the military plane was "heading off into Venezuelan airspace."
“We are aware of the recent reporting regarding U.S. military aircraft operations in the Caribbean and are currently reviewing the matter. Military aircrews are highly trained professionals who operate in accordance with established procedures and applicable airspace requirements," Colonel Emanuel L. Ortiz, public affairs chief at U.S. Southern Command, told USA Today.
"Safety is our top priority. 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. We have reported this incident to federal authorities and will participate in any investigation," JetBlue said in a statement to USA Today.
