A Spirit Airlines flight received multiple warnings from air traffic control to “pay attention” and “turn away” after it flew in proximity to President Donald Trump’s aircraft en route to the United Kingdom for a state visit.
“Pay attention. Get off the iPad,” air traffic control reportedly told the Spirit pilot as the aircraft flew eight miles (12.8km) parallel to Air Force One, the U.S. president’s official plane, over New York on Tuesday.
While the aircraft never breached the distance threshold that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would classify as unsafe, the situation reportedly raised concern among officials.
“Safety is always our top priority,” a Spirit spokesman told CBS, the BBC’s U.S. partner.
Spirit Flight 1300 “followed procedures and Air Traffic Control instructions” and “landed uneventfully” as planned in Boston, the airline stated.
The Spirit flight was traveling from Florida to Massachusetts. According to flight tracking site Flightradar24, the two planes were flying parallel to each other 8 miles apart, and were on paths on which they could have converged 11 miles apart.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated, “Preliminary investigation shows aircraft maintained the required separation.”
Air traffic control audio obtained by the BBC captured controllers urgently and repeatedly instructing the Spirit Airbus A321 to maintain its distance.
“Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right,” an air traffic controller instructed, according to LiveATC audio. “Pay attention, Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right. Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right, now. Spirit wings 1300 turn 20 degrees right, immediately.”
The Spirit Airlines pilots acknowledged the transmission, though their responses were reportedly difficult to discern due to static interference on the recording.
The controller responded with: “Pay attention. Spirit 1300 traffic off your left wing by six mi— or eight miles, 747. I’m sure you can see who it is. … Keep an eye out for him — he’s white and blue,” referencing the exterior colors of the president’s aircraft.
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