NORAD said it has responded to ‘over 20 tracks of interests’ entering the restricted zone in Palm Beach since Trump’s inauguration.
Air Force fighter jets on Sunday intercepted a civilian aircraft that flew in restricted airspace near President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said.
The civilian aircraft was spotted flying within a zone under the temporary flight restriction (TFR) at around 1.15 p.m. ET on March 9, according to NORAD.
In response, NORAD scrambled F-16 fighter jets, which fired flares to get the pilot’s attention. NORAD said the flares were visible to the public but they burnt out quickly and posed no danger.
The incident took place as Trump finished a round of golf at his West Palm Beach golf course. It was also the second time in 48 hours that F-16 fighter jets from the Continental U.S. NORAD region responded to such an aviation violation over Palm Beach, Florida, the aerospace command said.
NORAD stated that it has responded to “over 20 tracks of interests” entering the restricted zone in Palm Beach since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command Gen. Gregory Guillot said that civilian aviators may be unaware of the notice filed with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“Adherence to TFR procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the President,” Guillot 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.”
Guillot stated that when an intercept happens, pilots of the aircraft must immediately come up on frequency 121.5 or 243.0 and turn their plane around to reverse course until they receive further instructions on one of those frequencies.
