Air Force fighter jets intercepted an unauthorized aircraft that entered the no-fly zone over Donald Trump’s Florida home while he played golf at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday.
North American Aerospace Defense Command said F-16 fighter jets fired off flares to get the attention of the civilian pilot while the president finished a round of golf at his West Palm Beach golf course.
The intrusion did not alter Trump’s schedule or impact his security, according to officials.
NORAD said the flares may have been visible from the ground but that they burn out quickly and don’t pose danger.
‘Adherence to TFR procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the President,’ Gen. Gregory Guillot, the commander of NORAD and US Northern Command said in a statement.
‘The procedures are not optional, and the excessive number of recent TFR violations indicates many civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMS, before each flight as required by the FAA, and has resulted in multiple responses by NORAD fighter aircraft to guide offending aircraft out of the TFR.’
Jets also conducted an intercept on Saturday morning shortly after Trump arrived at the course from his private Mar-a-Lago club and residence.
Violations, and intercepts, are relatively routine, but NORAD is raising alarm over the frequency of the intrusions since Trump’s inauguration.
Air Force fighter jets intercepted an unauthorized aircraft that entered the no-fly zone over Donald Trump’s Florida home while he played golf. Pictured: Trump arriving on Saturday
F-16 fighter jets fired off flares to get the attention of the civilian pilot while the president finished a round of golf (Pictured: An F-16 on October 31, 2020)
The intrusion did not alter Trump’s schedule or impact his security at Mar-a-Lago (pictured)
The agency said it has responded to more than 20 incidents and blames civilian pilots for not following regulations requiring them to check for airspace restrictions before taking off.
Federal officials maintain a permanent flight restriction over Trump’s club that expands to a radius of 30 nautical miles when the president is in residence.
On March 1, three aircraft reportedly violated the airspace above Mar-a-Lago between 11:05am, 12:10pm and 12:50pm, according to Newsmax’s Todd Starnes.
During two of the intercepts, the fighter jets reportedly had to deploy flares. However, all three civilian fliers were safely nudged out of Palm Beach airspace.
The Palm Beach Post reported on February 20 that there were three airspace violations over the coastal city during Trump’s six-day visit to Mar-a-Lago that month.
Two of the violations occurred on February 15 and one happened on Presidents Day, February 17.
A NORAD spokesperson did not reveal where the planes were exactly over Palm Beach, but there were reports of F-16’s responding to the violations over Wellington, which is a more inland community.
NORAD reported yet another civilian aircraft improperly flying over Palm Beach on February 18 at approximately 10:49 am.
NORAD is raising alarm over the frequency of the intrusions since Trump’s inauguration
A civilian recorded this video of an F-16 flying over the Palm Beach area on February 18. That day, there was another civilian aircraft flying improperly in the airspace
Again, the agency scrambled fighter jets which also used flares to communicate with the civilian pilot.
NORAD explained that flares are ’employed with the highest regard for safety, burn out quickly and completely, and pose no danger to people on the ground.’
A civilian recorded one of the fighter jets that was deployed that day and submitted the video to WPTV, an NBC affiliate in West Palm Beach. The video was taken when the jet was over Boynton Beach, which is slightly south of Palm Beach.
