WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Associated Press reports that a Delta passenger flight preparing to leave the nation’s capital and an incoming military jet received instructions to divert and prevent a possible collision.
Delta Air Lines Flight 2983 was cleared for takeoff at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Friday around 3:15 p.m., the same time four U.S. Air Force T-38 Talon aircraft were inbound, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
The jets were heading for a flyover of Arlington National Cemetery when the Delta aircraft received an onboard alert of a nearby aircraft. Air traffic controllers “issued corrective instructions to both aircraft,” according to the FAA, which intends to investigate.
No injuries were reported.
The incident comes just two months after a midair collision above the same airport killed 67 people. The Jan. 29 crash between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter was the deadliest U.S. plane crash in more than two decades. Both aircraft plunged into the Potomac River, killing everyone aboard.
CNN reports the military jet involved in Friday's near-miss took off and landed at Langley Air Force Base, in Hampton, Virginia.
The FAA says it will investigate the incident.
