A civil aircraft violating temporary flight restrictions (TFR) was detected near President Donald Trump's Mar a Lago Estate and was “escorted” by military officials on Sunday.
In a statement released Sunday, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said the F-16 fighter jets have responded to “general aviation aircraft” flying through Palm Beach, Florida.
Norad, a US military alliance with Canada, said the civil aircraft “violated the TFR around Eastern Daylight.”
“The aircraft was [then] “We were safely escorted from the area by Norad Aircraft,” Norad said.
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Norad said the F-16 fighter jets have responded to “general aviation aircraft” flying through Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo of the US Air Force by Msgt. DonTaggart)
The news release also said the Norad aircraft was “on fire” at the time.
“Flares were used to attract attention or communicate from pilots,” the statement said. “Flare is employed to value safety the most and burn quickly and completely, and not pose any danger to those on the ground.”
General Gregory Guillott, Commander of Norad, said the agency would “work closely” with the FAA.
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The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Patrol Boat protects the waters around Mar Arago on September 15th, 2024. (Reuters/Giorgio Viera)
“Compliance with the TFR procedure is essential to ensuring flight safety, national security and presidential security,” Guillot added. “The procedure is not an option. The recent excess number of TFR violations indicates that many civilian aviators have not read notifications to airmen or notAM prior to each flight in response to FAA requests, and have given multiple answers to guide aircraft from TFR by NORAD fighters.”
“If an aircraft pilot happens to be intercepted by either a fighter or a helicopter, they will need to immediately appear at a frequency of 121.5 or 243.0 and reverse the course until they receive additional instructions on either of those frequencies.”
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Norado said he has responded to “more than 20 tracks of interest” in close proximity to Mar-a-Lago. (Reuters/Riccardo Arduengo)
Since Trump was launched on Jan. 20, Norad has responded to “more than 20 interested trucks” that enter the TFR area of Palm Beach, the agency said.
