Spirit Airlines Pilots Reprimanded For Flying Too Close to Air Force One
A Spirit Airlines flight earned a dressing down from an air traffic controller after seemingly flying too close to President Donald Trump and Air Force One.
Spirit Airlines flight 1300, headed from Fort Lauderdale to Boston, was flying over Long Island, N.Y. Tuesday in the vicinity of Air Force One, which was carrying the president, First Lady and other dignitaries on an official visit to the United Kingdom.
At one point, air traffic personnel felt the aircraft was getting too close to Air Force One's flight path and altitude.
“Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right, vectors traffic in descent," the air traffic controller can be heard saying in a recording from liveatc.net. "Pay attention Spirit 1300, turn 20 degrees right. Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right, now. Spirit wings 1300 turn 20 degrees right, immediately."
Bluesky user and aviation insider @JonNYC first detailed the tense exchange, which can be found in its entirety below.
AIR FORCE ONE and Spirit Airlines flt NK1300 got too close over Long Island, New York for Air Traffic Control and get’s yelled at including getting told “GET OFF THE IPAD”! ????
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) September 17, 2025
Tip via @xJonNYC
Audio via @liveatc & Tracking via @ADSBex pic.twitter.com/sLJ0rip8sG
'Get off the iPad!'
After the controller's initial warnings, the pilot can be heard confirming he was following orders.
"Pay attention," the controller fires back.
Later, the controller refers to Air Force One's location in relation to the Spirit flight, telling the pilots for the latter to keep an eye out for the aircraft.
“Spirit 1300 traffic off your left wing by six mi– or eight miles, 747. I’m sure you can see who it is," the controller adds.
Finally, after one last set of instructions to Spirit flight 1300, during which the controller complains about having to "talk to you twice every time," he left the pilot with a final admonishment
“Pay attention! Get off the iPad," the controller demanded.
Things sounded worse than they were
According to Bloomberg, despite the testiness of the exchange, Air Force One was never in any danger of a collision with the Spirit flight.
"Preliminary investigation shows aircraft maintained the required separation," the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to CBS News.
Additionally, a Spirit spokesperson said their personnel followed required protocols.
"Safety is always our top priority," the spokesperson said. "Spirit Airlines flight 1300 followed procedures and Air Traffic Control (ATC) instructions while en route to Boston and landed uneventfully (in Boston)."