A Delta flight almost collided with an Air Force jet while taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Delta Air Lines Flight 2983 was cleared for takeoff at the airport around 3:15 p.m. EST local time on Friday, March 28.
The Delta flight — an Airbus A319 aircraft — was on its regularly scheduled service between Reagan National Airport and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, with a scheduled arrival time of 4:36 p.m. central. There were 131 travelers on board, two pilots and three flight attendants.
According to the FAA, at the same time, four U.S. Air Force T-38 Talons were inbound to Arlington National Cemetery for a flyover.
“The Delta aircraft received an onboard alert that another aircraft was nearby. Air traffic controllers issued corrective instructions to both aircraft,” the FAA said, noting that it will investigate.
Tracking data from FlightRadar24 shows an Air Force T-38 jet flying past the plane at a reported barometric altitude of 800 feet. Its ground speed was at 300 knots, about 345 miles per hour. The close call was captured in tracking footage from AirNav Radar.
“On that departure … was there an actual aircraft about 500 ft below us as we came off of DCA,” the pilot of the Delta plane could be heard asking air traffic controllers on LiveATC.net audio, per CNN.
“Delta 2983, affirmative,” the Departure controller responded afterwards, per the organization, which notes that the pilot said the cockpit received a “resolution advisory” from the plane’s Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System. The jet later landed at Langley Air Force Base, in Hampton, Va., per FlightRadar24.
According to SKYbrary, a resolution advisory is an indication given to the flight crew recommending a maneuver intended to provide separation from all threats or a maneuver restriction intended to maintain existing separation.
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In a statement shared with PEOPLE, 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 close call comes nearly two months to the day when a Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight over the Potomac on Jan. 29. 67 people were killed, including many young figure skaters, their families and their coaches.
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