Screen Photo This playback of DL3788 as recorded by Flightradar24.com shows its flight path after a near miss with a B-52 bomber as it approached to land at Minot International Airport on Friday evening.

The pilot of a Delta Connection regional jet performed an “aggressive maneuver” to avoid a mid-air collision with a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber as it came in for a landing at Minot International Airport on Friday evening.

A spokesperson with SkyWest Airlines confirmed SkyWest flight 3788 was operating as a Delta Connection from Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) to Minot International Airport (MOT) on Friday, and landed safely in Minot after being cleared for approach by the tower. The spokesperson said a go-around was performed when another aircraft became visible in its flight path. Sky West said the incident is under investigation.

A video published to social media by a passenger recorded a debriefing by the pilot to the passengers after the incident. The pilot stated the tower directed him about 6 miles from the airport, but that another airplane was visible on his right-hand side. The pilot described the other plane as a B-52, and said, “Nobody told us about it.”

“I thought it was a small airplane, like the ones you see at the airport right now doing touch and goes. And he said ‘turn right,’ and I said, ‘There’s an airplane over there,’ and he says ‘turn left,’ and by the time we read back the clearance, we looked over and saw the airplane that was kind of coming on a convergent course with us,” the pilot said in the video.

The pilot told the passengers the other plane was a military aircraft given its speed, and the safest thing to do was turn behind it.

“So, sorry for the aggressive maneuver. It caught me by surprise, and it’s not normal at all. I don’t know why they didn’t give us a heads up, because the air base does have radar, and nobody said, ‘Hey there’s also a B-52 in the pattern,” the pilot said.

The passengers applauded the pilot, who described the experience as, “not a fun day at work.”

The flight departed MSP at 6:20 p.m. central time on Friday, and landed in Minot at 8:06 p.m., according to data from Flightradar24.com.

A flyover of the North Dakota State Fair (NDSF) was conducted by B-52 Stratofortresses with the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base during a ceremony prior to the Bailey Zimmerman concert at approximately 7:40 p.m. Friday. The ceremony recognized the city of Minot for its commitment to the U.S. military, and included a delegation from the Association of Defense Communities from Washington, D.C., Gov. Kelly Armstrong and leadership from Minot AFB.

NDSF General Manager Craig Rudland told The Minot Daily News in an interview on July 10 the flyover would be conducted at 1,000 feet, which he said was,” incredibly low.”

A connection to this incident and the State Fair flyover has not been officially confirmed at this time.

The Minot AFB Public Affairs Office was contacted for a statement, but one was not received before press time.

State Fair representatives were not made aware of the incident until they were contacted by The Minot Daily News, and indicated they were not prepared to issue a statement until further investigation had been performed.

Additional information regarding the incident will be provided as it is available.