A region of Presidential airspace was established over Delaware, USA, last weekend as President Joe Biden spent time in Wilmington. Security measures are increased wherever the President goes, and blocking off sections of airspace are all part and parcel of those security measures. Apparently, some of the locals didn’t get the message because a military fighter jet had to be scrambled to intercept a civilian plane on Sunday, 16th May.
Protecting the skies of North America is the responsibility of NORAD, and it was NORAD that filed the first report of the shocking incident. According to their information, the small plane entered the restriction zone despite signal flares being fired to alert the pilot of its existence. The pilot of the plane also failed to make contact with air traffic control for unknown reasons. That led to a North American Aerospace Defense Command aircraft being sent into the sky to intercept it and escort it out of the protected area. The pilot complied and was taken to New Garden Airport in Pennsylvania for further questioning upon landing.
According to eyewitnesses and information available from flight tracking websites, the plane in question was a single-engine Grumman AA-5 Tiger plane from New York. It took off from Ocean City Municipal Airport in Maryland before making its ill-advised flight into the protected zone. It had already made two complete turns before heading for Delaware, which would have increased the concerns of those monitoring it from the ground. The Presidential Temporary Flight Restriction area is comparatively small, covering only thirty nautical miles, so it’s difficult for a plane to enter it accidentally. When this four-seater plane did, it was only natural for the military to assume that it might have malign intent. Fortunately, that doesn’t appear to have been the case.
All pilots are required to check restricted airspace listings before embarking on any flight. Failure to do so can be construed as a serious offence when that restricted airspace is violated. Pilots found to have committed violations can face heavy fines, and in the most serious instances, can face the suspension or even total loss of their pilot’s license. It’s not yet known what, if any, consequences the unknown pilot of the Grumman might face. While permission to cross restricted airspace might sometimes be granted to commercial airlines or emergency services aircraft, exceptions are rarely given to private aircraft even when it’s applied for. In this case, the pilot didn’t communicate any intention to visit Delaware at all and isn’t thought to have filed a flight plan before taking off.
Tensions around the President’s security are high and have remained high ever since he was inaugurated behind military fences in Washington D.C. in January 2021. The President’s security services have been on high alert ever since the January 6th attack on the Capitol. They aren’t thought to be likely to back down from their current level of alert at any time in the immediate future. The serving President’s security is always taken extremely seriously, so an unknown plane crossing into a thirty-mile restricted zone to possibly pass directly above the President’s head would obviously be seen as a potentially major issue. While the identity of the pilot at fault is currently unknown, most analysts expect them to be dealt with harshly so as to set an example regardless of whether they ever had any malign attempt or not.
NORAD’s report on the incident says that no use of force was required and that the pilot responded appropriately when approached in the air by the military plane. Tabloid newspaper reports – which claim to be based on eyewitness testimony – make it sound somewhat more dramatic. According to the Sun, which is one of the biggest daily newspapers in the United Kingdom, the fighter jet had to fire a warning shot to persuade the pilot of the Grumman to back off. Photographs of the incident taken from the ground appear to show something being fired, but the object could just as easily be a flare as a warning shot.
The drama of the incident is of the kind that we more readily associate with previous President Donald Trump than with President Biden, who thus far appears to have made it his mission to maintain a lower profile than his predecessor. Trump’s high-profile spats with his enemies led to media sensations on such a scale that an online slots game called “Rocket Men” was developed as a parody of his private battle with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. It was, for a time, one of the most popular online slots at Rose Slots N.Z. Its popularity has since dropped away for obvious reasons. Still, it’s ironic that after so many years of sensationalist headlines about Trump’s activities, it’s Biden’s airspace that’s being violated by rogue planes. Thus far, we haven’t seen anyone make an online slots game about Biden, but perhaps this will serve as a source of inspiration!
Although further details aren’t available as of the time of writing, there’s a theory in Delaware about the origin of the plane. Despite the fact that it’s registered in New York, some locals believe it might have been flown by a disgruntled local pilot with connections to New Garden Airport. Temporary restrictions are put into place every time Biden returns to his home city of Wilmington, and the thirty-mile no-fly zone contains the airport. That has a serious impact on the airport’s flight operations and, therefore, its sales. More than eighty per cent of the airport’s sales are made over the weekend, which is also the time Biden is most likely to visit. Although Wilmington is proud of its President, there’s no doubt that he’s bad for business as far as the airport is concerned. That raises the possibility that the one-man flight might have been a form of protest – albeit one that caused no disruption to Biden himself and might well land the pilot in a lot of trouble.
While the incident is shocking to read about and see pictures of, nobody was harmed. The pilot eventually landed safely, and the President’s schedule was uninterrupted. If we’re to learn anything from this, it’s that restriction zones should always be checked every time you’re due to fly, no matter how experienced a pilot you are, and that the military takes no chances.
