Second Near Midair Collision Near Venezuela 2025: US Air Force Tanker Forces Private Jet and JetBlue Flight to Evade Danger in Caribbean Airspace

Caribbean Sea – In a worrying escalation of flight risks over the southern Caribbean, two civilian aircraft narrowly escaped midair collisions with a U.S. Air Force refueling tanker within just 48 hours last weekend, spotlighting growing concerns about safety amid increased American military operations near Venezuela.

The incidents unfolded off the Venezuelan coast, close to the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao. On Friday, pilots of JetBlue Flight 1112 – en route from Curaçao to New York’s JFK Airport – suddenly halted their climb when the massive military tanker crossed their path unexpectedly. The next day, Saturday, a Falcon 900EX private business jet traveling from nearby Aruba to Miami reported an even closer call at around 26,000 feet.

“They were really close,” one of the private jet pilots radioed to air traffic controllers in Curaçao, their voice captured on public recordings. “We were climbing right into him – it was big, maybe a 777 or a 767.” The pilots quickly alerted authorities, describing how they had to maneuver sharply to avoid disaster.

These close encounters come as no surprise to those following regional tensions. The Federal Aviation Administration had already sounded the alarm last month, urging U.S. pilots and airlines to be extremely cautious in the area due to ramped-up military flights and potential security threats. That warning was renewed this week, and it’s prompted real consequences: several carriers, including Copa Airlines, have extended suspensions of routes to Venezuela’s main airport through mid-January.

U.S. Southern Command says it’s looking into the reports, while the National Transportation Safety Board is collecting details on both events. Dutch aviation officials, responsible for Curaçao’s airspace just 40 miles north of Venezuela, are also involved in reviews.

What makes these incidents particularly alarming is the tanker’s reported lack of active transponder in at least one case – the device that broadcasts position to other aircraft and controllers, helping prevent exactly these kinds of scares. In busy international airspace, that’s a critical safety tool, and its absence raises tough questions about operational protocols during sensitive missions.

The backdrop here is the ongoing U.S. push against drug trafficking networks in the region, with more military assets deployed to intercept suspected smuggling routes. While those efforts aim to curb serious threats, they’re creating ripple effects for everyday commercial and private flights passing through the Caribbean – a vital corridor for travel between the Americas.

Aviation experts point out that as military activity intensifies, coordination with civilian air traffic becomes even more essential to keep passengers and crews out of harm’s way. No one was hurt in these near-misses, but they serve as a wake-up call: in shared skies, one wrong move could turn routine flights into tragedies.

As investigations continue, travelers heading to or through the Caribbean might want to check for updates on routes near Venezuela. For now, these events underscore how geopolitical strains can spill over into the air, affecting everyone from vacationers to business flyers just trying to get from point A to point B safely.