Pilot narrowly avoids glider

Photo: Twitter

A passenger aboard a flight from Vancouver to Chicago says there were some tense moments as the pilot swerved to avoid crashing into a smaller aircraft.

Callum Snape was flying on a United Airlines plane on Monday afternoon when he felt the right wing drop and the aircraft do a hard right turn.

The Vancouver-based photographer says people shrieked and passengers clung to their seats, but the plane landed safely about 15 minutes later.

He says once the 737 touched down, the pilot announced the plane had narrowly missed a smaller aircraft.

The American Federal Aviation Administration says in a statement the pilot reported seeing a glider near Rockford, Ill., about 120 kilometres from Chicago's airport.

It says the two aircraft did not make contact, but the United Airlines plane climbed nearly 122 metres and that the agency is investigating the incident.