Close Call at Washington (DCA): Delta Airbus A319 and USAF T-38 Jet in Near Miss
A close call between a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 (Reg. N342NB) and a US Air Force T-38 jet (67-1833) at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on Friday raised alarms in the cockpit of the passenger plane. The incident occurred just south of the airport, near the location of the tragic 1990 American Airlines Flight 1572 and Army Black Hawk helicopter collision, which claimed 67 lives.
Incident Details
Delta Flight DL2983 was departing DCA at 3:15 p.m. ET (7:15 p.m. UTC) for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) on a scheduled flight.
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While Delta did not identify the other aircraft involved, a review of AirNav Radar flight tracking data confirms that a US Air Force T-38 jet flew past the Delta plane and DCA airport at 800 feet, traveling over 350 miles per hour. The military jet took off from and later returned to Langley Air Force Base (LFI) in Hampton, Virginia.
Delta Air Lines flight DL2983
D061
As the Delta A319 climbed out of DCA, the pilots noticed an aircraft dangerously close below them. Audio captures the following exchange between the Delta flight crew and air traffic control:
Delta pilot: “On that departure … was there an actual aircraft about 500 ft below us as we came off of DCA?”
ATC: “Delta 2983, affirmative.”
The Delta pilots also received a resolution advisory (RA) from their Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), an automated system designed to instruct pilots on avoiding midair collisions.
Ongoing Concerns Over Close Calls at DCA
This incident comes amid growing concerns over close calls between commercial aircraft and military flights near Reagan National Airport. During a congressional hearing on Thursday, senators demanded explanations for why these near misses—particularly between passenger planes and military helicopters—have been ignored for so long at DCA.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), investigators have documented over 15,000 proximity incidents involving commercial airplanes and helicopters from 2021 to 2024. Among these:
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85 cases where aircraft were within 1,500 feet vertically and 200 feet laterally.
In response, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently closed a helicopter route near the airport and mandated that military aircraft operating in the vicinity activate collision avoidance equipment. However, this requirement was not enough to prevent Friday’s incident.
Delta Responds
Delta Airlines has reaffirmed its commitment to safety, with spokesperson Morgan Durrant stating:
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people. That’s why the flight crew followed procedures to maneuver the aircraft as instructed.”
Passengers and Crew
Onboard Delta 2983 were:
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131 passengers
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Two pilots
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Three flight attendants
