"We just had traffic pass directly in front of us within 5 miles of us maybe 2 or 3 miles but it was an air-to air-refueler from the United States air force and he was at our altitude, the pilot said. We had to stop our climb. The pilot said the US air force plane then headed into Venezuelan airspace."
"We almost had a midair collision up here, the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of his conversation with air traffic control. They passed directly in our flight path ... They don't have their transponder turned on, it's outrageous. The incident involved JetBlue flight 1112 from Curacao, which is just off the coast of Venezuela, en route to New York City's JFK airport."
A JetBlue flight from Curaçao to New York's JFK halted its ascent to avoid what the pilot described as a US Air Force air-to-air refueler that crossed directly into the airliner's flight path and lacked an active transponder. The pilot reported the near miss to air traffic control and said the military plane later entered Venezuelan airspace. JetBlue reported the incident to federal authorities and said crew followed procedures. The Pentagon referred inquiries to the Air Force, which did not immediately respond. The episode occurred amid heightened U.S. military activity and warnings about Venezuelan airspace.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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