The evasive action an airline pilot took to avoid a B-52 bomber in the skies over North Dakota has focused attention on the way small airport towers are often run by private companies without their own radars.

A civilian aircraft was forced to take a sharp turn near Minot Air Force Base as a B-52 Stratofortress flew near it Friday evening.

The B-52 Bomber that had a near miss with a Skywest passenger plane was not informed of the oncoming aircraft. The Skywest pilot was forced to make an "aggressive maneuver" in order to avoid the Air Force vehicle.

Sorry about the aggressive maneuver,” an airline pilot told passengers after sharply banking to avoid a B-52 over North Dakota. "Not a fun day at work."

A Delta pilot made an aggressive maneuver to avoid hitting a B-52 bomber over North Dakota, with Air Force stating the B-52 was on an approved flight path.

The B-52 crossed the grandstand at the fairgrounds at 7:50 p.m. and headed west to clear the tower’s airspace before returning to the base.

GRAND FORKS — With a flight training partnership between the Air Force and the University of North Dakota in the midst of its second class of pilots, UND Aerospace Foundation CEO Chuck Pineo hopes the program can alleviate a national pilot shortage while supporting the military.

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday it is investigating a near miss between a SkyWest Airlines jet and a U.S. Air Force jet over North Dakota last week.

It's the second major near miss for Delta in the past week after an airline pilot took evasive action to avoid hitting a B-52 bomber over North Dakota.