On Friday, a Delta Air Lines jet narrowly avoided a mid-air collision with a United States Air Force T-38 military aircraft near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, just miles from the site of a deadly January crash that killed 67 people.
Delta Flight 2983, an Airbus A319 bound for Minneapolis-St. Paul, had just left DCA around 3 p.m. when a cockpit warning system known as a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) issued a “resolution advisory,” instructing pilots to take evasive action.
The Delta pilot asked air traffic control at 3:18 p.m., “Was there an actual aircraft about 500 ft below us as we came off of DCA?” Audio from LiveATC.net captured the conversation. “Delta 2983, affirmative,” the controller replied.
The military jet was flying from Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia.
“Delta Air Lines Flight 2983 was cleared for takeoff at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport around 3:15 p.m. local time on Friday, March 28, while four U.S. Air Force T-38 Talons were inbound to Arlington National Cemetery for a flyover,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
“The Delta aircraft received an onboard alert that another aircraft was nearby,” the agency explained. “Air traffic controllers issued corrective instructions to both aircraft.” The FAA will investigate the incident.
Delta confirmed the incident and said its crew acted appropriately. “There is nothing more important than the safety of our customers and employees.
That is why the flight crew followed procedures to maneuver the aircraft as directed,” spokesperson Morgan Durrant stated. The aircraft, which was carrying 131 passengers, two pilots, and three flight attendants, arrived at MSP on time at 4:36 p.m. local time.
This incident occurred just weeks after a January 29 crash in nearly the same airspace, in which an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided, killing everyone on both aircraft.
The National Transportation Safety Board has since revealed that thousands of near-misses occurred in the DCA area between 2021 and 2024.
Congress and aviation regulators face mounting pressure to tighten safety measures in Washington’s congested airspace.
