A U.S. airliner was intercepted by U.S. warplanes as it flew over the Trump rally.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) set up a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) zone around the airport where Trump’s rally was held in Arizona on 28th local time, reports RIA Novosti and CNN. Typically, the FAA and NORAD would have issued a joint statement warning civilian aircraft pilots of this restriction in advance, though this message was not always understood.
On the 28th, at approximately 2:00 p.m., NORAD sent an F-16 fighter jet to intercept a civilian aircraft when it discovered that it was violating this restriction. With radio contact failing, the fighter pilots opted to drop flares normally used to confuse incoming heat-seeking missiles.
The flares caught the attention of Trump and the rally crowd, who stopped in the middle of the rally to enjoy the “fireworks show” and cheered loudly as the fighter jets flew overhead. U.S. Secret Service agents also reacted to the plane’s unexpected presence at the rally, with some moving quickly toward the president.
Later on the 28th, NORAD tweeted that “the airliner was escorted out of the exclusion zone by NORAD aircraft without incident.”
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