The giant Air Force One, carrying US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump to the United Kingdom on Tuesday (local time), reportedly experienced a mid-air “close encounter with a passenger jet.
The incident took place when the Presidential plane flying from Morristown Airport, New Jersey, to the UK had a close encounter with Spirit Flight 1300, an Airbus SE A321 jet bound from Fort Lauderdale to Boston over New York airspace, Bloomberg reported.
As per the report, the aircraft was heading over Long Island when an air traffic controller noticed their altitudes were similar and flight paths converging. The ATC told Spirit Airlines flight 1300’s pilots to “pay attention.”
The bizarre back-and-forth exchange was captured in an audio clip
first shared on Bluesky by @JonNYC, according to the outlet.
“Spirit 1300, turn 20 degrees right,” the air traffic controller said, according to recordings from liveatc.net.
“Pay attention, Spirit 1300, turn 20 degrees right. Spirit 1300, turn 20 degrees right, now. Spirit wings 1300, turn 20 degrees right, immediately.”
When the Spirit pilots acknowledged the transmission, the air traffic controller replied: “Pay attention. Spirit 1300 traffic off your left wing by six miles or eight miles, 747. I’m sure you can see who it is. Keep an eye out for him—he’s white and blue.”
Preliminary flight data from Flightradar24 showed that the Spirit Airbus A321 and Air Force One were flying parallel to each other eight miles apart, and were 11 miles apart when they were on the closest path where they could converge.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that the planes were never at an unsafe distance from each other, per CBS News. “Preliminary investigation shows aircraft maintained the required separation,” the FAA said in a statement to the outlet.
A spokesperson for Spirit Airlines said in a statement to PEOPLE, “Spirit Airlines flight 1300 (FLL-BOS) followed procedures and Air Traffic Control (ATC) instructions while en route to Boston (BOS) and landed uneventfully at BOS. Safety is always our top priority.”
Meanwhile, Air Force One landed safely at Stansted, where Trump was received by Warren Stephens, the US Ambassador to the UK, and Viscount Hood, representing King Charles III.
The US President and first lady then stepped off Marine One at Windsor Castle, where they were officially welcomed by Prince William and Kate Middleton.
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