A JetBlue pilot reported a near mid-air collision after departing the Caribbean… and it was with a US Air Force jet!
After a routine departure, the A320 was climbing through around 33,000 feet for its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, when the crew spotted a US Air Force tanker immediately ahead of them, in close proximity, and in their flight path.
The US Air Force plane’s transponder wasn’t transmitting, so this was purely a visual discovery. The fact that they could tell exactly what kind of plane it was tells you how close they were. In the interaction between the JetBlue pilot and the air traffic controller, the pilot makes the following comments:
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
