Spirit Airlines flight reportedly flew too close to Air Force One much to the dismay of air traffic controllers

Spirit Airlines and Air Force One don’t usually end up in the same headline, but that changed this week when a Spirit pilot came a little too close for comfort.

The incident happened on Tuesday as Spirit Flight 1300 was en route to Boston.

Air traffic controllers monitoring the skies noticed the commercial jet flying at a similar altitude as Air Force One while both planes passed over Long Island.

What followed was a tense back-and-forth as controllers scrambled to get the Spirit jet to change course.

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Air Force One ended up landing safely

According to reports, controllers repeatedly ordered the pilot to turn 20 degrees to the right.

At first, there was no response, even after increasingly urgent commands such as, ‘Spirit 1300, turn 20 degrees right, immediately.’

Eventually, the pilot complied, but a reported delay left controllers audibly frustrated.

With Air Force One carrying the President of the United States, any potential conflict in the sky is treated with the highest level of seriousness.

Once the Spirit jet changed course, the scolding didn’t end there.

Controllers warned the pilot to ‘pay attention,’ noting the obvious presence of a 747 just a few miles away.

In one pointed comment, an exasperated controller even said, ‘Get off the iPad,’ a jab referencing the tablets pilots are allowed to use in place of paper flight manuals.

The exchange highlights just how stressful the job of air traffic control can be, with split-second decisions making the difference between routine safety and potential disaster.

Both flights landed safely at their destinations, with Air Force One arriving in time for the president’s state visit to the UK.

Spirit Airlines later released a statement defending its crew.

“Flight 1300 (FLL-BOS) followed procedures and Air Traffic Control (ATC) instructions while en route to Boston (BOS) and landed uneventfully at BOS,” the airline said.

It added that ‘safety is always our top priority.’

A source familiar with the situation told NBC News that the two aircraft did maintain the required separation, meaning there was no immediate danger of collision.

Supercar Blondie reached out to Spirit Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration for comment regarding the incident and will update the article as soon as we receive a statement.

Spirit Airlines recently went viral for flying over a hurricane

This is not the first time a Spirit Airlines flight found itself at the center of headlines.

Recently, another Spirit flight went viral for flying over Hurricane Erin, although the airline released a similar statement, saying that the route was completely safe.

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