What seemed like an ordinary trip almost ended in tragedy According to a JetBlue pilot, on December 12th he was departing Curacao when he had to abort his climb due to the presence of a US military refueling aircraft. The pilot blamed the military aircraft for crossing its path, according to local media reports on Sunday. “We almost had a mid-air collision,” the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of his conversation with air traffic control leaked to the media. According to the pilot, the tanker aircraft crossed the flight path of JetBlue Flight 1112 bound for JFK Airport in New York. "It passed directly in front of us at less than five miles, maybe two or three miles; it was a US Air Force aerial refueling aircraft. And it was at our altitude. We had to abort our climb," the pilot said in the recording. JetBlue spokesperson Derek Dombrowski said he informed the airline on Sunday. “The federal authorities.”

“Our crew team receives training on the proper procedures for different situations that may arise during a flight, and we are grateful that the staff quickly reported this situation to our management team,” he said.

Since last summer, the Pentagon has maintained a massive military deployment in Caribbean waters to destroy boats that the government says are carrying drugs and belong to networks involving the Venezuelan government and military.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning last month to US aircraft, urging them to “exercise extreme caution” when flying over Venezuelan airspace, “due to the deteriorating security situation and increased military activity in or around Venezuela.”