Spirit airlines plane crew scolded for delay responding to traffic control instructions. (Wiki Commons)
‘Pay attention!’, Spirit Airline pilots are told.
The crew of a passenger jet was reprimanded for taking a flight course too close to Air Force One and for taking too long to adjust direction.
The incident occurred over Long Island, and President Donald J. Trump was aboard AF1.
New York Post reported:
“Pilots flying Spirit Airlines Flight 1300, traveling from Fort Lauderdale to Boston, were scolded by an air traffic controller Tuesday after they tried warning them, they were rapidly closing in on the president’s plane altitude and flight path as it was en route to the United Kingdom.
[…] ‘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’.”
Air Force One was taking Trump to his state visit to the UK.
After a delay, the pilots acknowledged the instructions and adjusted the course.
“However, the air traffic controller reprimanded them again to ‘pay attention’ to whom they were getting close to.
‘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’, the controller said. […] ‘Pay attention! Get off the iPad’.”
AIR FORCE ONE and Spirit Airlines flt NK1300 got too close over Long Island, New York for Air Traffic Control and get’s yelled at including getting told “GET OFF THE IPAD”!
Tip via @xJonNYC
Audio via @liveatc & Tracking via @ADSBex pic.twitter.com/sLJ0rip8sG
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) September 17, 2025
It’s reported that Air Force One was never in real danger, despite the emphatic messages of the air traffic controller.
Both Air Force One and the Spirit Airlines plane landed safely in London and Boston, respectively.
Read more:
LISTEN: “Welcome Home, Charlie. You Didn’t Deserve it. May God Bless Your Family” – Air Traffic Controller at Phoenix Sky Harbor Welcomes Charlie Kirk as Air Force Two Lands with Casket
The post LISTEN: Spirit Airline Pilots Rebuked by Air Traffic Controller for Flying Too Close to Air Force One: ‘Get Off the iPad!’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.