WEST PALM BEACH, Florida ( AP ) — Air Force fighter jets intercepted a civilian aircraft flying in the temporarily restricted airspace near , Donald Trump ‘s , Florida home Sunday, bringing the number of violations to more than 20 since the president took office on Jan. 20.
North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a speech that Sunday’s incident, which took place as Trump finished a round of golf at his West Palm Beach golf lessons, saw F-16s install lights to get the attention of the human aircraft. Jets even conducted an capture on Saturday night shortly after Trump arrived at the lessons from his personal Mar-a-Lago membership and residence.
The airport intrusions in the heavily congested South Florida aircraft have prompted fighter plane intercepts but did not alter Trump’s plan or effect his protection, officials said. NORAD says the lights may have been visible from the ground but that they burn out fast and don’t cause harm.
Federal authorities maintain a continuous flight restriction over Trump’s team that develops to a circle of 30 navigational yards when the leader is in home.
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Violations, and intercepts, are somewhat habit, but NORAD is raising concern over the speed of the intrusions since Trump’s opening, saying it has responded to more than 20 incidents and blames human pilots for not following regulations requiring them to test for aircraft restrictions before taking off.
” 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”.
