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NORAD Calls On Civilians To Familiarize Themselves With Mandatory Flying Guidelines
Following Increased airspace violations over President Trump‘s Florida home, The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, has called on civilians to learn the mandatory flying guidelines before taking to the skies.
Since Trump took the office on Jan. 20, there have been more than twenty violations that involved the use of fighter jets to intercept the aircraft. The most recent took place this Sunday, March 9, when Air Force fighter jets intercepted a temporarily restricted airspace near Trump’s home.
NORAD issued a statement on the incident, saying that F-16s deployed flares in order to call the attention of the civilian pilot.
However, this did not interfere with Trump’s schedule or his security, as officials have said. As for the flares, NORADs confirmed that though they are visible from the ground, they pose no danger as they burn out quickly.
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Another intercept had taken place on Saturday morning shortly after Trump arrived at the course from his private Mar-a-Lago club and residence.
This prompted Gen. Gregory Guillot, the commander of NORAD and US Northern Command, to reiterate the importance of civilian pilots keeping aware of Temporary Flight Restriction procedures.
“Adherence to TFR procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the President,” Gen. Gregory Guillot, the commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, said in a statement.
He continued, “The procedures are not optional, and the excessive number of recent TFR violations indicates many civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMS, before each flight as required by the FAA, and has resulted in multiple responses by NORAD fighter aircraft to guide offending aircraft out of the TFR.”
Even though interceptions and violations are fairly routine, they have clearly increased since Trump took office. This is coming on the heels of Trump firing hundreds of FAA employees without warning in a surprise downsize of the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA.
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