‘Get off the iPad!’: ATC yells at Spirit pilots after close call with Trump’s Air Force One over Long Island

ATC scolds Spirit Airlines pilots for close call with Air Force One carrying Trump

Air Force One, carrying US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump to the United Kingdom, had a mid-air “close encounter” with a Spirit Airlines passenger jet, according to Bloomberg.

The incident occurred as the presidential Boeing 747 departed Morristown Airport in New Jersey and crossed New York airspace. Spirit Flight 1300, an Airbus A321 traveling from Fort Lauderdale to Boston, came dangerously close while both planes were flying over Long Island.

Air traffic controllers quickly noticed the aircraft were at similar altitudes with converging paths and repeatedly instructed the Spirit pilots to alter course.

“Pay attention. Spirit 1300, turn 20 degrees right,” an air traffic controller said in audio captured on liveatc.net and reported by CBS News. When the pilots were slow to respond, the controller pressed again: “Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees, right now.”

Controllers repeatedly raised their voices, warning Spirit Airlines pilots about the “white and blue” 747 nearby. At one point, a frustrated controller snapped: “I gotta talk to you twice every time. Pay attention. Get off the iPad.”

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”! 😂

Tip via @xJonNYC
Audio via @liveatc & Tracking via @ADSBex pic.twitter.com/sLJ0rip8sG

— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) September 17, 2025

The incident unfolded as President Trump traveled to the United Kingdom, where he became the first US leader to be invited for a second state visit with King Charles III and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Preliminary data from Flightradar24 indicated that the Spirit Airbus A321 and Air Force One were flying on nearly parallel routes, about eight miles apart, and later came within 11 miles at their closest convergence point.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), there was no point at which the aircraft were too close. “Preliminary investigation shows aircraft maintained the required separation," the FAA told CBS News.

Spirit Airlines also issued a statement, telling PEOPLE: “Spirit Airlines flight 1300 (FLL-BOS) followed procedures and Air Traffic Control (ATC) instructions while en route to Boston (BOS) and landed uneventfully at BOS. Safety is always our top priority."