JetBlue Flight Nearly Collides with US Tanker Off Venezuela

A JetBlue Airways passenger flight narrowly avoided a midair collision with a U.S. Air Force refueling tanker on Friday afternoon off the coast of Venezuela, forcing the commercial jet to halt its climb as the military aircraft crossed its path at the same altitude without an active transponder.

The incident involved JetBlue Flight 1112, an Airbus A320 carrying passengers from Curaçao International Airport to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport. According to audio recordings of radio transmissions captured by air traffic control in Curaçao, the JetBlue pilot reported the close encounter about 20 minutes after takeoff, estimating the tanker passed within two to five miles directly in front of the aircraft. "We almost had a midair collision up here," the pilot told controllers. "They passed directly in our flight path. They don't have their transponder turned on. It's outrageous." The pilot added that the crew had to stop the climb and briefly descend to avoid the tanker, which then proceeded into Venezuelan airspace.

Air traffic controllers acknowledged the issue, noting they could not track the military plane on radar due to the disabled transponder. "It has...