A Delta jet pilot had to execute an ‘aggressive maneuver’ to avoid a potential mid-air collision with a US Air Force B-52 bomber on the night of July 18.

The SkyWest Airlines passenger jet, reportedly operating as a Delta Air Lines connection flight, was traveling from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Minot International Airport in North Dakota when the incident occurred. During the 90-minute journey, the Embraer E175 came alarmingly close to the B-52 Stratofortress from Minot Air Force Base.

To avert a crash with the bomber, the pilot reportedly had to quickly swerve the aircraft away.

Passengers and crew on the aircraft claimed they could see the US Air Force plane from their windows, yet the atmosphere remained ‘strangely calm’.

A SkyWest Airlines pilot had to act swiftly and perform an 'aggressive maneuver' during a flight this weekend (Getty Stock Image)

A spokesperson for SkyWest Airlines told Tyla: "SkyWest flight 3788, operating as Delta Connection from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Minot, North Dakota on July 18, landed safely in Minot after being cleared for approach by the tower but performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path. We are investigating the incident."

A video has since surfaced on social media, filmed by one of the passengers named Monica Green, featuring the audio of the pilot’s account of the events.

In the clip, the pilot can be heard over the intercom: “For those of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the airplane sort of coming at us - nobody informed us about it, and so we continued.”

He continued: “Air traffic - there’s no radar here, so the tower manages everything visually, and they instructed us to report at six miles from the airport. We complied. I think they realized the spacing wouldn’t work and said to turn right. I glanced over and saw an airplane on the right-hand side.”

He explained that he was initially instructed to turn right but then saw another airplane there, leading to a new instruction to turn left.

The pilot continued: “I don’t know how fast they were going, but it was much faster than us, so I decided the best course was to turn behind it. I apologize for the aggressive maneuver; it surprised me, as it’s not typical at all.

“I don’t understand why we weren’t alerted since the airport base does have radar, and nobody said anything.”

One of the passengers onboard recorded the moment the pilot explained what happened (Getty Stock Image)

He concluded with: “Long story short, it was not fun, but I do apologize for it and thank you for understanding.”

The plane then seemed to erupt into applause, with the passengers clearly grateful for the pilot’s quick thinking.

Green has since shared her experience with NBC News, expressing that she felt ‘so sick to her stomach that that was so close to happening’.

“I just remember the plane going, like, sideways … and just looking straight out the window and just seeing grass, like you weren’t seeing the skyline anymore.” she recounted.

In a separate interview, Green told KFYR TV: “I felt like I was gaslighting myself, like maybe I was overreacting, because no one else was responding.

“We took a really hard turn, and that’s when the pilot got on the intercom and said, ‘sorry everybody, I’ll explain everything when we land safely.”

She added: “The way he said it, it almost sounded like he was suggesting that landing safely might not be an option for a moment. We all just kind of looked at each other and stayed quiet.”