F-16 fighter jet intercepts civilian plane in restricted airspace over Maryland
(CBS NEWS) – Sources from CBS News say that an F-16 fighter jet intercepted a civilian plane that was flying through restricted airspace over Hagerstown, Maryland, on Saturday afternoon, military officials said.
The plane had violated a VIP Temporary Flight Restriction in the region, said the North American Aerospace Defense Command. The restriction is effectively a no-fly zone declared by the FAA, often in relation to the movements of President Trump, Vice President JD Vance or other high-ranking members of the U.S. government, according to the National Business Aviation Association. They are also infrequently established for foreign leaders or large events like the Super Bowl.
After intercepting the civilian plane at around 12:20 p.m. ET, the F-16 monitored the aircraft while it landed safely at a nearby airport, NORAD said. In a social media post about the interception, the military branch urged aviators to “stay sharp” and check for airspace restrictions “before every flight.”
Temporary flight restrictions are communicated to pilots through Notices to Airmen, or NOTAMs, and they prohibit all aircraft and drones from operating in a certain airspace without permission for a designated period of time, the FAA says. Violating these restrictions “can face sanctions ranging from warnings or fines to certificate suspensions or revocations,” according to the agency, which notes that penalties vary based on the circumstances of an individual situation.
It’s not uncommon for military jets to intercept civilian planes that have entered restricted airspace. Last month, F-16 fighters intercepted one that flew through a restricted zone over Washington, D.C., and safely escorted it from the area, NORAD said at the time. The agency warned earlier in June that its jets had responded to more than a dozen unauthorized aircraft incursions in the New York and New Jersey region since the beginning of the month, urging pilots to be more vigilant.
In New Jersey, pilots with the state’s Air National Guard responded to an uptick in airspace violations last summer in an area above Mr. Trump’s golf club in the town of Bedminster, according to NORAD.
