‘Pay attention’ – Spirit flight warned over proximity to Air Force One

A Spirit Airlines flight received repeated warnings from air traffic controllers to “pay attention” and “turn away” after it came too close to President Donald Trump’s aircraft as he flew to the United Kingdom for a state visit.

“Pay attention. Get off the iPad,” was the stern message issued to the Spirit pilot as the aircraft flew eight miles (12.8km) parallel to Air Force One, the US president’s official plane, over New York on Tuesday.

The planes were never within a distance that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would classify as unsafe, but it was close enough to alarm officials.

“Safety is always our top priority,” a Spirit spokesman told CBS, the BBC’s US partner.

Spirit Flight 1300 “followed procedures and Air Traffic Control instructions” and “landed uneventfully” as planned in Boston, the airline said.

The Spirit flight was travelling from Florida to Massachusetts. According to flight tracking site Flightradar24, the two planes were flying parallel to each other 8 miles apart, and were on paths on which they could have converged 11 miles apart,

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “Preliminary investigation shows aircraft maintained the required separation.”

Air traffic control audio obtained by the BBC recorded controllers urgently and repeatedly telling the Spirit Airbus A321 to keep its distance.

“Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right,” an air traffic controller said, according to LiveATC audio. “Pay attention, Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right. Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right, now. Spirit wings 1300 turn 20 degrees right, immediately.”

The budget airline pilots acknowledged the transmission, although their responses were difficult to hear due to the static sounds on the recording.

The controller responded with: “Pay attention. Spirit 1300 traffic off your left wing by six mi— or eight miles, 747. I’m sure you can see who it is. … Keep an eye out for him — he’s white and blue” – the white and blue being a reference to the exterior colours of the president’s aircraft.

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived in the UK on Tuesday evening.