U.S. Military Jet Vanishes from Radar, Nearly Hits Passenger Plane

A U.S. Air Force refueling tanker nearly collided with a JetBlue passenger flight over the Caribbean. The incident occurred because the military plane was flying with its transponder switched off. A transponder is a device that sends an aircraft's identity, altitude, and position to air traffic control radar. Without it, the tanker was invisible to controllers monitoring commercial airspace. Radio transmissions reveal the JetBlue pilots had to take sudden evasive action. They alerted traffic control to an unidentified aircraft that passed dangerously close. Only later was it confirmed to be the U.S. Air Force KC-135 tanker. The military has not stated why the tanker's transponder was deactivated. Aviation experts warn such "dark" flights in busy corridors create severe collision risks. An investigation into the serious breach of safety protocol is ongoing.