A flight from the US airline JetBlue departing from the small Caribbean island of Curaçao, heading toward John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City, halted its climb Friday to avoid colliding with an unresponsive US Air Force refueling aircraft. The commercial pilot blamed the military plane for crossing its path. Curaçao is a few dozen miles off the coast of Venezuela.
“We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said in a recording of his conversation with air traffic control. “They went directly into our flight path … They don’t have their transponder on; it’s outrageous.”
“We just saw the airborne traffic directly in front of us at less than five miles from us—maybe two or three miles—but it was a US Air Force air-to-air refueling plane, and it was at our altitude,” the pilot said, adding “we had to stop our climb.”
The pilot noted that the US Air Force plane then headed toward Venezuelan airspace. According to the air traffic recording, the controller responded: “It’s been outrageous with the [US] unidentified aircraft inside our airspace.”
Derek Dombrowski, a JetBlue spokesperson, said Sunday: “We have reported this incident to federal authorities and will participate in any investigation.” He added: “Our crewmembers are trained on the proper procedures for a variety of in-flight situations, and we appreciate our crew quickly reporting this situation to our leadership team”
The Pentagon referred mainstream media to the Air Force for comment. The Air Force did not respond to the requests by Sunday as reported by Al Jazeera.
Analysts claim the incident is part of ongoing US attempts to isolate and intimidate Venezuela, as the US Air Force becomes more comfortable intruding in foreign airspace surrounding the country. They say it evidences the fluid commercial air-traffic operations in countries surrounding Venezuela, despite US attempts to disrupt air-traffic inside that country, even as airlines claim their suspension of flights to Venezuela is in response to security concerns. Commercial flights inside Venezuela have continued despite US imperialist pressure, though international flights mostly on European routes have been affected.
Since last September, the US military has launched a controversial military operation in the region, dubbing it Southern Spear, with 22 airstrikes resulting in the assassination of 87 civilians on small boats reported so far. International, United Nations, and US human rights and military experts have labeled the strikes as extrajudicial executions.
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On November 21, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a notice advising commercial airlines to use extreme caution while flying within and around the Venezuelan air-traffic region. Days later, US ruler Donald Trump posted a controversial and unofficial message on social media claiming that Venezuelan airspace was closed. For many, this is further evidence of the regime change operation against Venezuela that, in a new desperate move, tries to disrupt air-traffic in that country while fueling psychological operations against the Venezuelan people.
Analysts claim a tragedy caused by the unprecedented US military deployment in the region—aiming at regime change in Venezuela but allegedly part of a new US “war on drugs”—is a real possibility, affecting air-traffic not only in Venezuela but all over the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. They clarify that the ultimate goal of US imperialism is to peak the unconventional war waged against Venezuela for the last year, which shows signs of wearing out by not achieving its goals.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
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