F-16 fighter jet intercepts plane near Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort
An F-16 fighter jet performed a "headbutt" maneuver to intercept an aircraft flying close to President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last Friday, the U.S. military has said.
The First Air Force at Florida's Tyndall Air Force Base said in a statement on Friday that North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-16 aircraft had intercepted a "general aviation aircraft" over Palm Beach at approximately 10.50 a.m. ET on April 4. This is a broad term referring to non-commercial civilian aircraft, News.Az reports, citing Newsweek.
The NORAD aircraft "conducted a headbutt maneuver to gain the civilian pilot's attention," before safely escorting the aircraft from the area, the Air Force said.
A "headbutt maneuver" often involves a fighter jet flying very close to another aircraft and cutting in front of its nose.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) puts out Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) to air crews, enforced by NORAD. TFRs are typically put in place during presidential visits.
The U.S. military has policed the airspace around Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort since the President returned to the White House in January, recording several violations since then.
The Air Force said on Friday it had responded to "over 20 tracks of interest" over Palm Beach since Trump's inauguration on January 20.
Trump played golf at Mar-a-Lago on Friday in the wake of a raft of extensive tariff announcements that sent shockwaves through the global markets.
Pilots in the air are also responsible for making sure they check Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMs.
On March 9, the military said NORAD F-16s had intercepted aircraft around Mar-a-Lago on two separate occasions over that weekend, adding that the jets deployed flares.
The Air Force said it used a "layered" network of radars, satellites and fighter jets to detect and tackle potential threats.
"The identification and monitoring of civilian aircraft demonstrate how NORAD executes its aerospace warning and control missions for the United States and Canada," the Air Force said. NORAD is a binational command.
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