Radio transmissions reviewed by CNN show that the pilots of a private jet narrowly avoided a collision with a United States Air Force refueling tanker near Venezuela on Saturday – one day after a similar incident nearby.
The pilots of a Falcon 900EX business jet flying from Aruba to Miami reported the near collision to air traffic controllers in Curaçao shortly after the incident Saturday afternoon, according to audio captured by LiveATC.net.
“They were really close,” one of the pilots told controllers of the encounter at approximately 26,000 feet. “We were climbing right into him,” the unidentified pilot said. “It was big, maybe a 777 or a (767).”
CNN has reached out to the US Air Force and United States Southern Command for comment.
The incident marks the second reported near-collision near Venezuela in two days. On Friday, the pilots of JetBlue flight 1112 from Curaçao to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport radioed controllers that they were forced to abruptly stop their climb after a US Air Force aerial refueling tanker crossed directly in front of their flight path with its position-reporting transponder turned off.
The Pentagon and Dutch aviation officials say they are reviewing the earlier JetBlue incident. In a statement to CNN, United States Southern Command said it was “aware of the recent reporting regarding US military aircraft operations in the Caribbean and (is) currently reviewing the matter.”
The National Transportation Safety Board told CNN it was aware of both incidents and was gathering information.
Curaçao lies about 40 miles north of the coast of Venezuela.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued an advisory last month warning US airlines of heightened military activity at all altitudes near Venezuela. On Tuesday, it repeated the warning.
“Threats could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight, the arrival and departure phases of flight, and/or airports and aircraft on the ground,” it said.
Several international airlines canceled flights out of Venezuela following the FAA warning last month. On Tuesday, Copa Airlines said it would extend its suspension of flights to and from Caracas until January 15, “due to operational conditions at Maiquetía International Airport.”
Curaçao is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Dutch Safety Board said it was aware of the incident in Curaçao’s airspace.
