"It's Outrageous": US Military Plane Nearly Collides With JetBlue Flight Off Venezuela
A US military aircraft narrowly avoided a collision with a JetBlue passenger jet in skies near Venezuela after crossing into the commercial plane's flight path without activating its transponder, according to air traffic control audio reviewed by The NY Times and others.
The JetBlue flight had departed from Curaçao, a Dutch Caribbean island roughly 40 miles off Venezuela’s coast, and was heading to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport when the near-miss incident occurred Friday. That it was headed for JFK from what's a popular seasonal tourist destination suggests that most of the passengers were Americans on board.
"We almost had a midair collision," the JetBlue pilot said in the recording. "They flew directly through our flight path … and they don’t have their transponder on. It's outrageous."
The military aircraft was identified as a US Air Force aerial refueling tanker. The JetBlue pilot is heard in the audio confirming he was forced to halt its climb to avoid danger.
"We had traffic pass directly in front of us within about five miles - maybe as close as two or three miles," he described. "It was an air-to-air refueler from the US Air Force at our altitude, and we had to stop climbing."
Air traffic control also acknowledged that it was "outrageous" dealing with unidentified aircraft operating in the airspace. The following day on Saturday, air traffic controllers in Curaçao had warned three pilots about unidentified aircraft in the area as they were flying with transponders off. These were also believed to be US military aircraft, according to the NY Times.
The Trump administration has been threatening regime change targeting President Nicolás Maduro, and has been ramping up military flights right along Venezuelan airspace. Trump has lately said that land strikes could begin soon, but it might not be limited to Venezuela, suggesting anti-cartel operations in other parts of Latin America could ensue.
Recent polls have shown that a sizeable chunk of the American public, even the majority, views the possibility of a new US war in Venezuela in a negative light.
In scenario of a tragic incident involving civilian aviation, Americans would without doubt be furious.
Independent Max Blumenthal has accused the Trump administration of "playing with the lives of civilians" in the below commentary:
For weeks, the Trump admin's "Operation Southern Spear" has been playing with the lives of airline passengers traversing the Caribbean. Throughout November, the US military employed electronic warfare to jam the GPS of passenger airline pilots to force international airlines to quit flying to Caracas Colombia's Minister of Transport, María Fernanda Rojas slammed the cyberattacks targeting aircraft operating near Venezuela.
"Deceptive signals are being emitted—cyberattacks, signals intended to fool positioning equipment, GPS " Rojas declared on December 2. "To technologically sabotage an air operation anywhere in the world is a crime. We cannot allow that ."
On December 12, a US army refueling tanker flying without its transponder on nearly collided with a Jet Blue flight traveling from Curacao to New York “They don’t have their transponder turned on, it’s outrageous,” the JetBlue pilot told an air traffic controller. “We almost had a midair collision up here.” The Trump admin is engaged in borderline terrorism against civilian airliners and endangering travelers across the Caribbean – all to further a deranged regime change operation now focused on stealing oil tankers. How much longer before a flight is sacrificed for Marco Rubio's mania?
“Pasaron directamente en nuestra ruta de vuelo… No tienen su transpondedor encendido, es una locura”, dijo el piloto. https://t.co/VTGteOxPPX
— Telemundo51 (@Telemundo51) December 14, 2025
As of November, the FAA issued a high level security alert (NOTAM) for Venezuela, effective through February, warning 'do not fly'. However, civilian aircraft have been operating over the broader Caribbean, and if American military planes increasingly traverse the same area with their transponders off, this could pose a serious and continuing danger.
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