A Delta Air Lines jet takes off over the Potomac River at Reagan National Airport in Virginia, on Feb. 3. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
A Delta Air Lines passenger flight departing Reagan National Airport on Friday was diverted to avoid a potential collision with a group of Air Force jets, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Delta Air Lines Flight 2983, an Airbus A319 carrying five Delta crew members and 131 passengers, had departed the Washington, D.C.-area airport at around 3:15 p.m. for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport when pilots received an onboard alert that another aircraft was nearby.
Four U.S. Air Force T-38 Talons were heading to Arlington National Cemetery for a funeral flyover, the FAA said. Air traffic controllers then issued corrective instructions to both aircraft.
The FAA said it would investigate the incident. Audio of the encounter was captured by LiveATC.net.
“On that departure, was there an actual aircraft about 500 feet below us as we came off of DCA?” a pilot asked air traffic control shortly after the incident.
“Delta 2983, affirmative,” the controller responded.
One of the pilots on the Delta flight reported to air traffic controllers that he received an alert from the plane’s collision warning system, known as a “resolution advisory.” The warning provides information on what pilots need to do to avoid hitting another aircraft that the system judges to be on a collision course.
In a statement, Delta said, “Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people. That’s why the flight crew followed procedures to maneuver the aircraft as instructed.”
The incident comes nearly two months after American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport on Jan. 29, sending the two aircraft crashing into the Potomac River and killing all on board both aircraft. The Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet, arriving from Wichita, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members; the UH-60 Black Hawk, which was carrying a crew of three, was on a training flight.
The Air Force said in a statement that it was “aware of a potential incident involving an Air Force T-38 aircraft and a civilian airliner” on Friday.
“Safety of our people and the surrounding communities is our primary concern and thanks to the professionalism of all aircrews involved, there was no disruption to air traffic or support to the funeral,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said. “The Air Force will fully cooperate with the FAA on any investigation into the matter.”
The January collision was the deadliest U.S. passenger jet crash in more than two decades and occurred in one of the most complex, security-sensitive air corridors in the country, where passenger jets landing at National Airport routinely cross paths with helicopters flown by more than 50 operators.
Airline pilots have received more than 100 cockpit warnings over the past decade that they were in danger of a midair collision with a helicopter near Reagan National Airport, The Post previously reported.
The FAA permanently closed part of a helicopter route the Army aircraft was on earlier this month.
