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Lakeland pilot among 24 aircraft intercepted near President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property

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Published  March 12, 2025 12:00am EDT
Polk County
FOX 13 News

Polk County pilot intercepted near Mar-a-Lago

FOX 13’s Jennifer Kveglis reports on a Lakeland pilot who was intercepted flying near President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Since Trump became president, fighter jets have been forced to intercept multiple planes flying over restricted airspace.

The Brief

    • NORAD says they have intercepted 24 aircraft in the restricted airspace near President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property while he was president.
    • A Lakeland pilot was among them and was not harmed in the interception.
    • Each one costs $25,000 an hour and involves two F-16 fighter jets each.

LAKELAND, Fla. - A Polk County pilot was among the 24 violators surrounding Mar-a-Lago's restricted airspace while President Donald Trump was president. 

President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) reports that with every violation, two F-16 fighter jets, each costing $25,000 an hour, are deployed to interfere with the aircraft.

Last weekend, NORAD reported that fighter jets had to be deployed twice to interfere with civilian aircraft entering the restricted airspace, which spans a radius of 30 nautical miles.

The restricted airspace around Mar-a-Lago's airspace, which spans a radius of 30 nautical miles.

Dig deeper:

NORAD reported that around 1 p.m., a Cessna Skyhawk that left Lakeland Linder Airport entered the restricted airspace. Fighter jets deployed flares to get the pilot's attention. 

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The flares burned out quickly and did not harm people on the ground, and the pilot returned to Lakeland Linder Airport a few hours later.

The flight map of the Lakeland pilot who was intercepted near Mar-a-Lago.

Another pilot was escorted out of the area around 9 a.m. one day prior.

What they're saying:

Gregory Guillot, Commander of NORAD, said in a statement: 

  • "NORAD and the FAA work closely together to keep skies over America safe, with close attention paid to area with Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR). Adherence to TFR procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the President," he added, "The procedures are not optional, and the excessive number of recent TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction) violations indicates many civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMs, before each flight as required by the FAA, and has resulted in multiple responses by NORAD fighter aircraft to guide offending aircraft out of the TFR."

FILE: F-16 fighter jet.

READ: Family searching for missing high-school senior offers reward: 'We love you a lot, Allister'

Violators could face fines, license suspension, or arrests.

The Source: FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis collected the information in this story.

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