【By Bear Chao Ran, Observer Net】On December 12 local time, a JetBlue passenger plane that had taken off from the Caribbean island nation of Curaçao had to abort its climb after avoiding a collision with a U.S. Air Force tanker aircraft. The pilot accused the military aircraft of crossing into its flight path.

The Associated Press reported on December 14 local time about this near-miss incident. According to the audio recording of the conversation between the JetBlue pilot and air traffic controllers, he said: "We almost had a mid-air collision here. They flew directly into our route... Their transponder was off, which is really ridiculous."

According to the air traffic control recording, the air traffic controller responded to the pilot, saying: "It's completely unacceptable to have an unidentified aircraft in our airspace."

This incident involved JetBlue Flight 1112, which took off from Curaçao, located near the coast of Venezuela, heading for New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. At the same time, the U.S. military has been strengthening its so-called "drug war" operations in the Caribbean and trying to increase military pressure on the Venezuelan government.

Photo: A JetBlue airplane landing IC Photo

"There was an aircraft passing within less than five miles, maybe only two to three miles ahead of us (one mile is approximately 1.61 kilometers), it was a U.S. Air Force aerial refueling aircraft, and it was at the same altitude as us," a civil aviation pilot said: "We had to stop climbing."

The pilot also said that the U.S. Air Force aerial refueling aircraft then entered Venezuelan airspace.

JetBlue is a low-cost airline in the United States, mainly operating domestic flights within the United States and international routes to the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Europe.

Curaçao is located in the southern part of the Caribbean Sea, in the Lesser Antilles. After the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, it became an autonomous country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with a population of about 150,000 and a land area of 444 square kilometers. It is worth mentioning that in the recent 2026 World Cup qualifiers for North America and the Caribbean region, Curaçao made it to the final stage for the first time, becoming the smallest country in World Cup history.

On December 14 local time, Derek Dombrowski, a spokesperson for JetBlue, said: "We have reported this matter to the federal authorities and will cooperate with any investigation." He added: "Our crew members have received training on proper procedures under various flight conditions, and we appreciate the crew members for promptly reporting this matter to our leadership team."

In response to the Associated Press' request for comment, the Pentagon referred them to the U.S. Air Force, while the U.S. Air Force has not yet commented on the matter.

Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning reminding U.S. aircraft to "exercise caution" when entering Venezuelan airspace, stating that due to the deteriorating security situation and increased military activities in Venezuela and its surrounding areas, vigilance was needed.

According to the website "The War Zone" on December 10 local time, real-time aviation data from the Swedish Flight Radar24 website showed that on the afternoon of December 9, two U.S. F/A-18E fighter jets entered the sea area northwest of Venezuela and remained in its airspace for at least 40 minutes.

F/A-18E/F from the Ford Carrier - Social Media

The U.S. military did not comment on the issue of F/A-18E/F carrier-based aircraft approaching Venezuela. An American official told "The War Zone" website: "This is a normal operational training flight by the Ford Carrier and platforms conducting training exercises. They are also testing the reaction capabilities of Venezuela's sensors and air defense forces, which is part of a military pressure operation to demonstrate U.S. capabilities in the Caribbean region."

These sensitive events occurred against the backdrop of escalating tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. Recently, the U.S. has deployed multiple warships near Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea under the pretext of "anti-drug operations" to exert pressure on Venezuela. Venezuela has repeatedly accused the U.S. of attempting to incite a regime change through military threats and expanding its military presence in Latin America.

President Trump has recently stated that the U.S. may take action "soon" to strike drug traffickers in Venezuela via land routes.

Since August this year, the number of U.S. troops in the entire Caribbean region has significantly increased, with a total of approximately 15,000 personnel currently deployed in the region, including the "Ford" carrier and many other U.S. Navy forces.

This article is exclusive to Observer Net. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7583870309120410148/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.