A U.S. passenger flight preparing to leave the nation’s capital and an incoming military jet received instructions to divert and prevent a possible collision, officials said.

Delta Air Lines Flight 2983 was cleared for takeoff at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Friday around 3:15 p.m., the same time four Air Force T-38 Talon aircraft were inbound, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

The jets were heading for a flyover of Arlington National Cemetery when the Delta aircraft received an onboard alert of a nearby aircraft. Air traffic controllers “issued corrective instructions to both aircraft,” according to the FAA.

According to a recording of air traffic control communications, Delta’s pilot asked, “Was there an actual aircraft about 500 feet below us as we came off of DCA?”

In a recording archived by aviation site LiveATC.net, the controller responded, “Delta 2983, affirmative.”

— The Associated Press