13-03-2025
Lakeland pilot entered restricted airspace around Mar-a-Lago
LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) — Federal authorities said an 'excessive' number of pilots have violated flight restrictions around President Donald Trump's Florida home since his inauguration.
One of the most recent incidents involved a pilot flying out of Lakeland.
'If that happens, you just need to accept that you've made that mistake and comply in any way,' said Alex Reed, a flight instructor at Kingsky Flight Academy.
As a flight instructor, Reed teaches his students not only how to fly, but about how to check their aircraft pre-flight and put together a flight plan.
'We have electronic flight bags, so, like, ForeFlight for example. When we build these flight plans, it will look at the route that you're going and show if TFRs are going to be existing during the time that you're passing based on the route that you're flying,' he said.
A TFR is a 'temporary flight restriction,' which is put in place for large events and for certain public figures, including Trump when he is at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach home.
Pilots are not allowed to fly within the designated areas when a TFR is in place.
On Sunday, a pilot who flew out of Lakeland violated that restriction.
'When I hear about a pilot flying into a TFR, it just shows that that pilot probably didn't plan their route properly and didn't do their due diligence to plan where they were going,' said Reed.
A flight path, shown on FlightAware, shows the Cessna Skyhawk leave from Lakeland at 10:53 Sunday morning, heading north and then south along the eastern side of Florida.
The plane took a turn near Mar-a-Lago, likely when it was intercepted by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD.
According to NORAD, it utilized F-16 aircraft and flares to get the pilot to leave the airspace.
The plane returned to Lakeland at 2:56 Sunday afternoon without incident.
'Even though we're humans, pilots are humans, we make mistakes. We can always learn when we make these accidents for future pilots as well,' said Reed.
NORAD's commander, Gen. Gregory Guillot, said adherence to TFR procedures is essential to ensuring flight safety, national security and the security of the president.
'The excessive number of recent TFR violations indicates many civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMs, before each flight as required by the FAA,' wrote Gen. Guillot in a statement.
NORAD reports more than 20 flights have been intercepted entering the Palm Beach restricted area since Trump's inauguration.
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