In brief
During a state visit of President Donald Trump to the UK, a Spirit Airlines flight was warned multiple times by air traffic controllers to steer clear of Air Force One, which was flying in close proximity. Despite repeated warnings to 'pay attention' and adjust altitude, the aircraft maintained a safe distance, with the FAA confirming proper procedures were upheld.
A Spirit Airlines flight received repeated warnings from air traffic controllers to pay attention and turn away after it came too close to President Donald Trump's aircraft as he flew to the United Kingdom for a state visit.
Pay attention. Get off the iPad, was the stern message issued to the Spirit pilot as the aircraft flew eight miles (12.8km) parallel to Air Force One, the US president's official plane, over New York on Tuesday.
The planes were never within a distance that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would classify as unsafe, but it was close enough to alarm officials.
Safety is always our top priority, a Spirit spokesman told CBS, the BBC's US partner.
Spirit Flight 1300 followed procedures and Air Traffic Control instructions and landed uneventfully as planned in Boston, the airline said.
The Spirit flight was travelling from Florida to Massachusetts. According to flight tracking site Flightradar24, the two planes were flying parallel to each other at an 8-mile distance, and were on paths on which they could have converged 11 miles apart.
The FAA's preliminary investigation shows aircraft maintained the required separation.
Air traffic control audio obtained by the BBC recorded controllers urgently and repeatedly telling the Spirit Airbus A321 to keep its distance. Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right, an air traffic controller said, according to LiveATC audio. Pay attention, Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right. Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right, now. Spirit wings 1300 turn 20 degrees right, immediately.
The budget airline pilots acknowledged the transmission, although their responses were difficult to hear due to static sounds on the recording. The controller responded with: 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, referring to the exterior colors of the president's aircraft.
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived in the UK on Tuesday evening.
