Two near collisions between military, civil aircraft in Curaçao airspace

The tensions between the United States and Venezuela are increasingly affecting the Dutch islands in the Caribbean. Over the weekend, there were two serious near-collisions in Curaçao airspace between civil aircraft and what is believed to be American military planes, NOS reports based on audio recordings from air traffic control. The incidents occurred on Friday and Saturday. Both involved a military tanker.

“I don’t know how we didn’t get a collision warning, because they were really close,” one clearly frightened pilot said to air traffic control after Saturday’s incident. “We were climbing straight towards that other aircraft.” Air traffic control intervened with immediate course corrections, instructing the plane to turn away and fly towards an avigation point to create distance. Air traffic control also warned of another plane only 8 miles away.

When air traffic control asked what type of aircraft it was, the crew replied that it was a large widebody, “maybe a 777, a 767.” According to NOS, the United States Air Force uses Boeing 767-2s, known in military form as KC-46, as an aerial refueling aircraft for other military craft.

Military spotters told the broadcaster that it is not unlikely that Saturday’s incident involved such a plane. Whether it was the same aircraft as in Friday’s incident is unclear. In both cases, unidentified traffic came very, very close to civil aircraft without triggering an automatic collision warning, known as TCAS Resolution Advisory.

The U.S. has deployed additional air and naval forces in the Caribbean region in its military operations against Venezuela. The Curaçao Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) previously warned airlines that there was unidentified air traffic in the airspace around Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire, urging pilots to be extra vigilant.