Watch where you’re going
One, who the hell takes a jet plane to MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA? How does Minot, North Dakota even have an airport? We’re not talking Minneapolis here, we’re not even talking Fargo, we’re talking Minot. The one in North Dakota.
Two, more seriously, wtf?
The pilot of a commercial airliner has said he needed to make an “aggressive maneuver” to avoid colliding with a US air force B-52 bomber as it landed in Minot, North Dakota, on Friday.
The SkyWest airlines pilot said he had been cleared to land on a trip from Minneapolis-St Paul (MSP) to Minot when he spotted the vast nuclear-capable bomber on his right side and was told to go around.
Well sure, I’m confident he was more than happy to go around, but he’s supposed to know to do that with plenty of time to spare, not seconds before the two planes collide and everybody dies. I think all parties prefer it that way.
“So, sorry for the aggressive maneuver,” the pilot said. “It caught me by surprise, and it’s not normal at all. I don’t know why they didn’t give us a heads up, because the airbase does have radar, and nobody said, ‘Hey there’s also a B-52 in the pattern.’”
The pilot described the experience as “not a fun day at work”.
I don’t know, maybe all the aircraft control people have been drafted to round up more immigrants.
Good reason to take the train. The tracks are there but the trains probably not unless you want to ride hobo-style in a boxcar. Pity that trains were the last guy’s thing.
The Aviationist:
Yeah, lack of coordination between civilian and military traffic can be a problem, as was vividly (and tragically) demonstrated in DC not so very long ago.
Amtrak has a station there. It’s on the Empire Builder, which runs from Portland and Seattle to Chicago (via St. Paul). But it only runs once a day, and from what I’ve heard, it’s usually late.
WaM, Amtrak trains are frequently late. That’s because they don’t have their own tracks in some places, at least, and have to share the tracks with the trains that transport goods. Ideally, the passengers are supposed to be the ones given priority, and the trains get paid larger rent if the Amtrak trains arrive on time. Every time I’ve taken Amtrak, though, I’ve noticed they have to stop and wait for the other trains. I guess since you can’t sell the passengers when they arrive, they will always get lower priority than consumer products.
iknklast,
Yeah, I’ve been there. And heard it countless times from my sister, who never flies when there’s a train available, even if it means sitting overnight in coach.
It’s not a problem in the DC to Boston corridor at least–Amtrak owns those tracks.
Per Wikipedia, Minot International Airport services 10 to 15 commercial flights a day from three airlines, as well as charters and general aviation traffic. It does not have scheduled commercial international flights, but it does have a customs facility.
Minot the city has a population of less than 50,000. It does have a major Air Force base north of the city (hence this story), so I might expect some commercial air traffic involving civilians who have dealings with the Air Force base.
The tracks are owned by the freight companies, so they get priority although it seems crazy to the rest of the world. I was once eight hours late on a trip from San Francisco to LA. Boy was the friend waiting for me in LA pissed. (This was before mobile phones.)