'Extreme safety risk' warning from FAA after three passenger jets in panic to avoid Musk rocket explosion

Three passenger jets faced an "extreme safety risk" after they were caught up in the aftermath of Elon Musk's failed SpaceX test flight, a report has revealed.

The seventh uncrewed Starship test flight destined for Mars was "destroyed" within 10 minutes of its launch over the Caribbean in January.

The doomed mission occurred just days after Musk launched the Department of Government Efficiency in President Donald Trump's new administration.

Now a report from the Federal Aviation Administration has revealed the three flights carrying 450 passengers faced peril after the explosion, with the possibility of aircraft debris scattered in the sky for up to an hour.

The crew of a JetBlue flight to San Juan were warned their journey could only be made "at your own risk", the Daily Mail reports.

Elsewhere, a controller was forced to warn two flights to change course after they flew too close to each other following the explosion.

Fortunately, all three planes made safe landings after declaring fuel emergencies and passing through a temporary no-fly zone, the Wall Street Journal reported.

One pilot repeated "mayday" to an air controller three times in order to make an emergency landing at San Juan.

The FAA alleges that SpaceX failed to notify air traffic control on an official hotline in the immediate aftermath of the explosion.

Air controllers in Miami are said to have only learned of the debris from the explosion after being alerted by other pilots forced to fly through it.