United States Southern Command only told CNN that it was “aware of recent information regarding US military aircraft operations in the Caribbean and (is) currently analyzing the matter.”
A JetBlue passenger plane had to halt its climb to avoid a collision with a United States Air Force refueling plane off the coast of Venezuela on Friday. The following day, a private plane was also involved in a similar incident.
Radio transmissions analyzed by CNN show that the pilots of a private jet narrowly escaped a collision with a US Air Force tanker plane near Venezuela on Saturday – a day after a similar incident nearby.
The pilots of the Falcon 900EX, which was flying from Aruba to Miami, reported the near collision to air traffic controllers in Curaçao shortly after the incident on Saturday afternoon, according to audio captured by .
“They were really close,” one of the pilots told controllers of the encounter at about 26,000 feet. “We were climbing straight into it,” the unidentified pilot added. “It was big, maybe a 777 or a (767).”
CNN has contacted the US Air Force and US Southern Command for comment.
The incident marks the second near-collision reported near Venezuela in two days. On Friday, the pilots of JetBlue Flight 1112 from Curaçao to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York radioed to controllers that they were forced to abruptly halt their climb after a U.S. Air Force refueling plane crossed directly in front of their flight path.
The Pentagon and Dutch aviation officials say they are analyzing the previous incident involving JetBlue. In a statement to CNN, the United States Southern Command said it was “aware of recent information regarding US military aircraft operations in the Caribbean and (is) currently analyzing the matter”.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) told CNN that it was aware of both incidents and was gathering information.
Curaçao is about 64.37 kilometers north of the coast of Venezuela.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last month issued a warning alerting U.S. airlines to increased military activity at all altitudes near Venezuela. On Tuesday, he reiterated the warning again.
“Threats can pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflights, in the arrival and departure phases of flights and/or at airports and aircraft on the ground,” he said.
Several international airlines canceled flights originating in Venezuela following the FAA’s warning last month. On Tuesday, Copa Airlines said it would extend the 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 Security Council said it was aware of the incident in Curaçao’s airspace.
