The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) say that twelve aircraft violated temporary airspace restrictions in connection with President Donald Trump’s visit to his house in Mar-a-Lago this past weekend.
Fighter Sweep told you about two F-15’s from Homestead Air Reserve Base flying supersonic to intercept an ‘unresponsive’ aircraft near Mar-a-Lago on Friday night causing some alarm with their sonic boom. It turns out that eight aircraft ‘crossed the line’ on Friday alone with three encountering F-15’s and one a military helicopter according to the FAA.
“The FAA will investigate each incident and will take appropriate enforcement action. The FAA also will continue to conduct outreach to educate local pilots about the restrictions,” the agency said in a statement.
In Sunday’s incident, the pilot didn’t have radio communication until the jets got close. “The pilot was very cooperative” and left immediately, Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Chuck Marsh, a NORAD spokesman said Sunday.
Marsh said the arrival of a military jet going more than 700 mph, and bristling with armaments, usually is enough to the get the flier’s attention, and prompt radio contact. “If I was a pilot up there and I saw that come up around me, I would definitely try to find out what’s going on,” he said. – Palm Beach Post
President Donald Trump waves on Air Force One at the Palm Beach International Airport for a visit to his Mar-a-Lago Resort, in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
No doubt President Trump going home to Mar-a-lago on the weekends can cause some significant headaches especially for local pilots. Remember, it the responsibility of all pilots to review the local Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) before they go fly so there really is no excuse for violating restricted airspace.
Pilots can contact FAA Flight Service to review their local NOTAM’s by calling 1-800-wxBrief
Featured image by Reuters