Overview

• On July 18, SkyWest Flight 3788 performed a go-around after its pilot spotted a converging B-52 bomber during final approach to Minot, North Dakota.
• The aircraft landed safely without injuries and passengers recorded the pilot citing lack of prior warning about the military jet.
• Crew members reported that tower directives conflicted—first ordering a right turn then a left—without radar alerts of the bomber’s presence.
• SkyWest and the U.S. Air Force have opened joint investigations into airspace coordination and ATC procedures, and the FAA is reviewing safety measures at Minot’s visual-only tower.
• The episode has intensified scrutiny of shared military-civilian airspace operations following a January Black Hawk collision near Washington, D.C.