Air Force fighter jets were once again called upon to intercept a civilian aircraft flying in close proximity to President Donald Trump’s Florida residence.
Since the President took office on January 20, the airspace around Mar-a-Lago has been violated at least 20 times, an average of around once every 2.5 days.
The latest incident occurred on Sunday, just as Trump was wrapping up a round of golf.
North American Aerospace Defense Command stated that the F-16s deployed flares to get the civilian aircraft’s attention. The occurrence happened just one day after jets were also called for an interception following Trump’s arrival at his West Palm Beach golf course on Saturday.
It is not just uninvited aircraft the President has to worry about.
Last year, The Dallas Express reported that Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested after allegedly attempting to assassinate Trump while the President was playing a round at the same golf course. Routh had managed to enter the grounds before he was spotted by Secret Service, pointing a gun through a bush, just 400 yards from Trump.
Aircraft are not permitted to fly within 30 nautical miles of the President’s Florida residence. While violations are relatively common, NORAD has raised concerns over the frequency of the events since Trump took office earlier this year. NORAD blames civilian pilots for failing to adhere to the federally enforced flight restrictions.
“Adherence to TFR [Temporary Flight Restrictions] procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the President,” said Gen. Gregory Guillot, Commander, NORAD and US Northern Command, in the March 9 statement.
“The procedures are not optional, and the excessive number of recent TFR violations indicates many civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMS, before each flight as required by the FAA, and has resulted in multiple responses by NORAD fighter aircraft to guide offending aircraft out of the TFR.”