Two Near-Midair Conflicts Near Curaçao Raised the Same Separation Question

The first conflict occurred during a climb

On 12 December 2025, JetBlue Flight 1112 departed Hato International Airport in Curaçao and climbed toward the high flight levels. Contemporary reporting places the conflict around FL330–FL340, where a U.S. Air Force refueling aircraft crossed in front of the JetBlue flight at approximately the same altitude. The military aircraft was not transmitting an active transponder signal visible to the air traffic system described in the account, leaving controllers without the normal radar picture of the traffic.

The crew stopped the climb

The JetBlue crew responded by stopping its climb and taking evasive action. ATC did not have radar contact with the military aircraft and advised the crew to submit a report. The flight subsequently continued safely. The event was significant because the avoidance action came from the flight crew after the conflicting aircraft had already entered the same vertical and lateral area.

A second conflict followed the next day

On 13 December, aircraft N888ZA encountered another conflict with U.S. Air Force traffic near Hato. The aircraft was climbing through approximately FL260 toward FL380 when ATC issued heading changes because controllers were dealing with unidentified traffic whose movement was described as irregular. The N888ZA crew reported that the military traffic passed extremely close.

The reported account states: “They were really close.”

Accident Facts

Sources

• Reuters report on JetBlue 1112 near-midair event: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/jetblue-flight-averts-mid-air-collision-with-us-air-force-jet-2025-12-15/
• Aircraft registration reference for N888ZA: https://www.aircraftone.com/aircraft.asp?tn=n888za
• Contemporary reporting on the two Curaçao near-midair events, including the 12/13 December 2025 sequence: https://www.el-balad.com/6797983