Delta Flight Encounters Near Miss with Military Jet at Reagan Airport

ARLINGTON, Va. — A near miss occurred on Friday afternoon between a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 and a U.S. Air Force T-38 jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The incident, which raised safety alarms in the cockpit of the passenger plane, is currently under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Delta Flight 2983 was slated to depart for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport at approximately 3:15 p.m. ET when the close encounter happened. The military jet flew past the Delta aircraft at a reported speed exceeding 350 miles per hour and altitude of 800 feet, according to tracking data from FlightRadar24.

The FAA noted that the Delta aircraft was cleared for takeoff while four T-38 Talons were inbound to Arlington National Cemetery for a scheduled flyover. Following the incident, both planes received alerts and instructions from air traffic controllers to avert potential collision.

“The Delta aircraft received an onboard alert that another aircraft was nearby,” said the FAA in a statement. “The agency is actively investigating the incident.”

This near miss occurred just south of the airport, close to the site of a tragic accident on January 29 that claimed the lives of 67 people. During a congressional hearing earlier this week, Senators expressed concern over the frequency of such near misses, highlighting an alarming trend in air traffic safety.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), between 2021 and 2024, there were over 15,000 reported incidents of near misses involving commercial airplanes and helicopters, including 85 where two aircraft were separated by less than 1,500 feet vertically and 200 feet laterally. In response, the FAA has discontinued certain helicopter routes in the vicinity of DCA and mandated that military aircraft in this area utilize specific collision avoidance equipment.

Audio captured from the flight, available on LiveATC.net, revealed the Delta pilot querying air traffic control about the proximity of the other aircraft. “On that departure … was there an actual aircraft about 500 ft below us as we came off of DCA?” the pilot asked.

The controller confirmed, “Delta 2983, affirmative.” The Delta aircraft also received a “resolution advisory,” a warning generated by its Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System, which aids pilots in avoiding collisions.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people,” said Morgan Durrant, a spokesperson for Delta Air Lines. “That’s why the flight crew followed procedures to maneuver the aircraft as instructed.”

The Delta flight carried a total of 136 people, including two pilots, three flight attendants, and 131 passengers.