A Spirit Airlines plane flew too close to Air Force One Tuesday morning, prompting air traffic controllers over Long Island to order the commercial pilots to turn away from the military aircraft. President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and several other dignitaries were aboard the flight for a United Kingdom trip, according to CBS News.
Pilots aboard the Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale to Boston were chastised by air traffic controllers above New York’s Long Island early Tuesday as the plane was approaching the U.K.-bound Air Force One, according to BlueSky user JonNYC. Controllers shouted multiple orders for pilots to turn 20 degrees away from the president’s plane.
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Spirit pilots told to ‘pay attention’
“Pay attention, get off the iPad,” an air traffic controller told Spirit pilots.
According to flight tracking website FlightAware, Spirit appeared to change direction slightly above the island before landing in Boston around 11 a.m., local time. According to media reports, Air Force One landed safely in the U.K.
Spirit says they followed instructions, procedures
In response to Straight Arrow News’ request for comment, a Spirit spokesperson said the flight “followed procedures and Air Traffic Control (ATC) instructions while en route to Boston (BOS) and landed uneventfully at BOS. Safety is always our top priority.”
Prior to the controller’s statement, Spirit pilots were informed that as they approached Air Force One, can could “see who it is,” referring to the military aircraft. Feedback from the commercial pilots couldn’t be deciphered due to radio static.
