Air Force One Has Near Miss With Spirit A321 Jet as Controllers Warn

Air traffic controllers repeatedly warned a Spirit Airlines flight to turn away from Air Force One on Tuesday Sep. 16 as President Donald Trump traveled to the United Kingdom for a state visit.

Spirit Airlines Flight 1300 was flying over Long Island en route from Fort Lauderdale to Boston when controllers issued a series of urgent instructions. “Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right,” one controller radioed, according to recordings posted by LiveATC.net and cited by CBS News.

The warnings quickly became more emphatic. “Pay attention, Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right. Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right, now. Spirit wings 1300 turn 20 degrees right, immediately,” the controller said.

After the Spirit pilots acknowledged the transmission, the controller replied, “Pay attention. Spirit 1300 traffic off your left wing by six…or eight miles, 747. I’m sure you can see who it is. Keep an eye out for him—he’s white and blue.” Air Force One, a blue-and-white Boeing 747, was carrying President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

Preliminary flight data from FlightAware showed the two jets came within about 11 miles of each other—well within controlled airspace but close enough to prompt repeated instructions from air traffic control.

A Spirit Airlines spokesperson told CBS News that “safety is always our top priority,” adding that Flight 1300 “followed procedures and Air Traffic Control (ATC) instructions while en route to Boston and landed uneventfully.” Newsweek reported it had reached out to Spirit Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for additional comment.

The incident comes after a series of recent violations of restricted airspace over Bedminster, New Jersey, where Trump frequently stays at his golf club. The U.S. Air Force said that over the previous weekend, six general aviation aircraft violated Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) airspace over Bedminster. In one case, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) scrambled fighter aircraft and deployed flares to attract a pilot’s attention.

While no evasive action was required in Tuesday’s encounter, the episode underscores the heightened vigilance surrounding presidential airspace and the risks posed when commercial aircraft stray too close to restricted zones.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, newsweek.com, LiveATC.net