A Delta Air Lines passenger jet narrowly avoided a midair collision with a U.S. Air Force military jet Friday afternoon in restricted Washington, D.C. airspace, prompting renewed scrutiny of military flight coordination near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Delta Flight 2983, an Airbus A319 carrying 131 passengers and five crew members, had just departed Reagan Airport at approximately 3:15 p.m. local time en route to Minneapolis-St. Paul when an onboard Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System issued a "resolution advisory," alerting pilots to an imminent threat from another aircraft.
"On that departure ... was there an actual aircraft about 500 ft below us as we came off of DCA?" the Delta pilot asked air traffic controllers, according to audio captured by LiveATC.net.
"Delta 2983, affirmative," the controller replied.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the alert was triggered when one of four Northrop T-38 Talon jets, inbound to Arlington National Cemetery for a ceremonial flyover, passed beneath the Delta flight in close proximity. The T-38 aircraft were operating out of Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia.
The FAA confirmed the Delta aircraft "received an onboard alert that another aircraft was nearby. Air traffic controllers issued corrective instructions to both aircraft."
Delta Airlines said in a statement: "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 near-collision occurred just one day before the two-month anniversary of a fatal midair crash in the same corridor. On January 29, an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional Bombardier CRJ700 near Reagan Airport, killing all 67 people on board both aircraft. That crash included members of the Team USA Figure Skating community returning from the National Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
The January accident prompted the FAA to impose new restrictions on non-essential helicopter operations in the D.C. area and to mandate separation protocols between helicopters and commercial jets, following National Transportation Safety Board recommendations.
Tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed the Air Force jet on Friday was flying at approximately 800 feet and moving at more than 350 mph when it crossed near the Delta aircraft. Such speeds and altitudes inside high-density commercial airspace have drawn criticism from lawmakers.
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.), whose state was the Delta flight's destination, said on X, formerly Twitter: "Unbelievably dangerous and thank God people are safe. My first call to Department of Defense tomorrow: 'Why are your planes flying 500 feet below passenger jets full of Minnesotans headed from DCA to my state.'"
The FAA told Fox News: "We are currently collecting information, but have not yet launched an investigation."
The military flyover mission involved four T-38 jets flying westbound toward Arlington National Cemetery. At the same time, the Delta aircraft was ascending over the Potomac River, heading south. The convergence of both aircraft groups in such a narrow and restricted corridor triggered concern over procedural failures.
The incident comes as new federal data shows rising risks in shared airspace. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, there have been more than 15,000 close encounters between helicopters and commercial airplanes between 2021 and 2024. Of those, 85 involved separations of less than 1,500 feet vertically and just 200 feet laterally.
