JAKARTA - A United States Air Force (US) aerial refueling plane almost crashed into a JetBlue Airways passenger plane bound for New York in the Caribbean Island sky.
USSOUTHCOM, or the US Southern Command, which is responsible for US military operations in South America and the Caribbean, said it was investigating the incident, which could have left many civilians dead.
"We are aware of recent reports regarding the operation of US military aircraft in the Caribbean and are currently reviewing the matter," the US Southern Command said in a statement to ABC News, Monday, December 15.
The incident almost happened because the US military plane which was on the flight path did not turn on the transponder when the JetBlue plane had just taken off from Curaçao on Friday, December 12.
Curaçao is known to be on the southern Caribbean island which is controlled by the Dutch and is adjacent to the coast of Venezuela.
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Airline and AT recordings show the incident clearly.
In the recording, a JetBlue pilot can be heard telling air traffic controllers that they had to abort the takeoff after the US military plane suddenly entered their flight path at the same altitude - "right in front" and "within five miles" of the JetBlue plane.
The pilot said the US military plane was heading into Venezuelan airspace. However, air traffic controllers noted that they did not see any military aircraft around them, because the transponder of the US military aircraft was turned off and did not send its location.
"We almost had an air collision here," the pilot said, according to the ATC recording.
"They passed right in our flight path... They didn't turn on their transponders; this is outrageous," the pilot continued.
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