The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) intercepted two aircraft that unauthorizedly entered restricted airspace over Bedminster, New Jersey, where President Donald Trump was spending the weekend at his private golf club, according to reporting by EFE.
F-16 fighters from the Continental United States region of NORAD, based at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, escorted both aircraft out of the restricted area without any further incidents.
NORAD did not immediately report the reasons for the breach or the identity of the pilots involved.
The agency reminded in its statement that every pilot is required to consult the Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) before each flight, as mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). When an aircraft is intercepted, its pilot must change course and await further instructions.
The Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, located about 64 kilometers west of New York, serves as the president's regular summer residence, regarded since his first term as a sort of "summer White House."
Each presidential visit activates temporary flight restrictions that include an inner zone of 10 nautical miles with a total prohibition and an outer zone of up to 30 nautical miles with partial restrictions, impacting around 20 public-use airports in the region.
Sunday's episode is not an isolated incident, but rather the latest in a series of air-related incidents concerning the president's security in recent weeks.
On July 19th, more than 10 general aviation aircraft violated temporary restrictions over Bedminster and East Rutherford during the World Cup final, while Trump was also in the area. On that occasion, NORAD conducted three intercepts, and in two of them, the F-16s deployed flares to attract the attention of the pilots.
Just four days before the incident this Sunday, authorities opened an investigation following a more serious episode: the Marine One helicopter carrying Trump came within less than a mile of a commercial flight from Envoy Air as it took off from the Ellipse, near the White House. The FAA acknowledged a "temporary loss of separation" between the two aircraft, prompting formal investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FAA itself.
The accumulation of incidents surrounding presidential airspace has intensified scrutiny regarding the adherence of civilian pilots to flight restrictions, as well as the security protocols that govern the movements of the president.
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