Those thunderous roars that rattled windows in Morristown over the weekend were not an invasion.
F-15 fighter jets were scrambled on Saturday and Sunday mornings to clear general aviation prop planes that strayed into restricted airspace around Morristown Airport, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued the restrictions — barring unauthorized flights for 30 nautical miles around the airport–because President Trump was spending the weekend at his golf club in Bedminster.
Sunday’s intercept of a Piper PA-28 occurred at 10:30 am. A Cessna 172 was cleared from the airspace at 11 am on Saturday.
Further details about those flights were not available Sunday evening. An FAA spokesperson said the incidents are under investigation.
The FAA calls NORAD “if aircraft are unaware or otherwise oblivious and not in contact with air traffic control” in airspace with temporary flight restrictions, said Capt. Cameron Hillier of the Royal Canadian Air Force, at NORAD’s Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.
A fighter jet flew so low on Sunday that at least two Morristown residents feared it would hit their homes.
“We certainly don’t want to cause any unnecessary disturbance,” but sometimes it’s unavoidable when the aircraft being intercepted are at low altitudes, Hillier said.
When a fighter jet intercepts an aircraft in restricted airspace, the military pilot reports the plane’s tail number, which is quickly investigated by the Department of Homeland Security. Then the jet pilot attempts to make radio contact with the errant pilot, with this warning:
“If you don’t comply, you may be fired upon.”
That’s according to the NORAD documentary Behind the Wings, which shows what an intercept looks like from the cockpit of an intercepted plane:
In both instances this weekend, he said, the general aviation planes landed safely at nearby airports. For security reasons, Hillier said he could not disclose how many jets were scrambled, or where they were based.
The president golfed Saturday with football Hall of Famer Brett Favre. Trump later tweeted about the Mississippi native’s influence in election battleground states Wisconsin and Minnesota, where he played for the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.
Favre also played for Woody Johnson’s New York Jets. Johnson, the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, tried to persuade officials there to move the British Open to Trump’s Turnberry course in Scotland, according to the New York Times. Trump has denied the report.
The president’s Marine One chopper delivered him to Morristown Airport at approximately 4:20 pm Sunday, and he departed via Air Force One at 4:45 pm, according to a resident who observed those flights.
President Trump departs from Morristown Airport on Air Force One, July 26, 2020. Video by Lee Goldberg:
Marine One delivers President Trump to Morristown Airport, July 26, 2020. Video by Lee Goldberg:
Wow what nonsense group think we have going on there! Lets all get off ihatetrump.org for a bit.
@ Margret – you crack me up. Does he make more from that than the 400K salary he is giving up per year? Did you praise him for doing that?
@ Linda – what is your intention of saying “elderly obese white man” ? What if you replace that color with another, is that ok to say? Ignore excessive heat warnings?! LOLOL Are you the type that also hides under the tables inside when the weather report of it being 90 degrees out advises people to stay inside and stay cool? What life you must live if so. And wth is your whole “accidents can happen” spiel? Were you out saying this drivel every time fighter jets were scrambled with Obama playing golf? Something may happen so everyone can no longer come out from under the kitchen tables in their perfectly climate controlled box for eternity! unreal.
@ “actual mike” – who cares.
From accurate reports, I researched, Trumpt has surpassed by far the number of times Obama played golf but then Trump has an incentive because he also owns the golf courses where he plays and makes a profit at tax payers expense, every time he plays at one of his own courses. and they get paid to house him and his staff, all neccesary of course.
Dingbat Mike: Trump plays 300% more golf than Obama
https://presidentialgolftracker.com/trump-vs-obama-golf-games/
An elderly obese white man ignores excessive heat warnings to play golf. Two F-15 fighter jets are deployed to protect him from a Sunday driver-in-the-sky. The man knows this will happen. It happened on June 14, too, when an F-15 Sea Eagle jet fighter was ordered to intercept a civilian airplane that had entered into the temporary flight restriction area (TFR) set up around Trump National Golf Course. Accidents can happen, too. On June 15, The pilot of an F-15C Eagle fighter jet crashed into the sea east of the United Kingdom Monday . the aircraft was on a routine training mission with one pilot on board, but that the cause of the crash remained unknown. In May, an F-15 helping to protect President Trump while he was at Camp David was forced to divert to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and make an emergency landing on its fuselage after its landing gear malfunctioned. Accidents happen. My neighbor, whom you have termed a dingbat, and I feared that another accident was happening on Sunday morning. The president made a choice to play golf knowing that he has to be protected by security detail.
Moira, oh no!!! Did you hide under the bed? Did you draw the curtains? Where is your safe space?
The image that you conjured up made me laugh out loud. Thanks – I needed that!
LOL @ Moira. I know, go back inside and hide under the table. Everyone should for the rest of time as our gov’t overlords who understand the facts better than anyone (ha!) tell us when to come back outside.
and Blame Trump for the security detail that isnt even his choice. I for one love seeing the fighter jets flying overhead – awesome stuff.
mike — Not true. Look it up. And who cares if he was a bad golfer?
I have lived on the same block for 30 years and have NEVER experienced this.
And you don’t know me well enough to call me a “dingbat.”
As far as golf is concerned, Obama played a hell of a lot more golf than Pres Trump….and btw he was really bad at it. As far as the jet over flights, that’s just normal security protocol for a President….all Presidents. This dingbat of a Trump hater should know better.
Why wasn’t my comment posted? Hardly controversial.
We were among those who thought a plane was about to crash into our house. It was terrifying and sent us running outside. Interestingly, we saw no other aircraft in the air when the jet flew a large circle over our neighborhood.
I wonder how much that cost we taxpayers. All so knucklehead can play golf for the umpteenth time while the rest of us deal with the pandemic. To use one of his favorite words, “disgraceful.”