Robert Besser
04 Apr 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C.: A U.S. passenger plane getting ready to take off and a military jet coming in were told to change course to avoid a possible crash, officials said.

Delta Air Lines Flight 2983 was permitted to take off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Friday at about 3:15 p.m. At the same time, four U.S. Air Force T-38 Talon jets were approaching, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

The jets were on their way for a flyover at Arlington National Cemetery when the Delta plane got an alert about another aircraft nearby. Air traffic controllers quickly gave new instructions to both planes to prevent a collision. The FAA said it will investigate.

According to a recording of air traffic control communications, Delta's pilot asked, "Was there an actual aircraft about 500 ft below us as we came off of DCA?"

In a recording archived by aviation site LiveATC.net, the controller responded: "Delta 2983, affirmative."

Delta said the Airbus A319 had 131 passengers, two pilots, and three flight attendants. It was flying from Washington, D.C., to Minneapolis-St. Paul. The plane left the gate at 2:55 p.m. and was scheduled to land at 4:36 p.m. local time; however, the pilots followed new instructions from controllers.

No one was hurt.

The T-38 Talon is a high-speed training jet used by the Air Force and other agencies, including NASA.

This incident happened just two months after a deadly midair crash over the same airport. On January 29, an American Airlines passenger plane and an Army helicopter collided, killing 67 people. Both crashed into the Potomac River, making it the worst U.S. plane crash in over 20 years.