A Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale to Boston had a near-miss with Air Force One on Sept. 16 while flying over New York City. The aircraft carrying President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and senior U.S. officials was en route to the United Kingdom.
Air Traffic Controller Intervention
According to LiveATC.net recordings, Spirit Airlines flight 1300 was repeatedly warned:
- “Spirit 1300, turn 20 degrees right.”
- “Spirit 1300, turn 20 degrees right now.”
- “Spirit wings 1300, turn 20 degrees right, immediately.”
The controller, sounding frustrated, added:
- “Pay attention. Traffic off your left wing by six… eight miles. A 747. I’m sure you can see who it is. He’s white and blue.”
- “I’ve got to talk to you twice every time. Pay attention. Get off the iPad.”
The Flights Involved
- Air Force One: Transporting President Trump, the First Lady, and senior officials including:
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
- Special Envoy Steve Witkoff
- White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles
- Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller
- Spirit Flight 1300: Commercial flight from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Boston (BOS).
Preliminary Findings
- A preliminary investigation reportedly found that the Spirit flight maintained required separation from Air Force One.
- The near-miss was first reported by aviation monitoring account JonNYC on Bluesky.
Destination: United Kingdom
Air Force One continued its journey safely to the U.K., where President Trump is scheduled to meet with:
- King Charles III
- Queen Camilla
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer
