US Air Force fighter jets intercepted a civilian aircraft that was flying in the temporarily restricted airspace near Donald Trump’s Florida residence. This incident marked more than 20 violations since President Trump assumed office on January 20.
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) reported that the interception occurred on Sunday when Trump was finishing a round of golf at his West Palm Beach golf course. F-16s were used to deploy flares in order to grab the attention of the civilian pilot.
Jets also conducted an intercept on Saturday morning shortly after Trump arrived at the course from his private Mar-a-Lago club and residence.
General Gregory Guillot, the commander of NORAD and US Northern Command, emphasized the importance of following Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) procedures to ensure flight safety, national security, and the President’s security in a statement regarding the incident.
“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.”
