HOMESTEAD, Fla. — WPTV is giving you an up-close look at how military jets quickly scramble to intercept planes that violate presidential airspace over Palm Beach County.
NORAD has been busy intercepting planes in the no-fly zone since President Trump took office in January.
When the military is made aware of a violation, a loud alarm beeps in the hangars at the 125th Fighter Wing of the Florida Air Guard at the Homestead Air Reserve Base south of Miami.
In less than 10 minutes, two F-15 pilots get into their suits, fire up the fighter jets and take off.
It takes even less time for the jets to intercept a private plane in restricted airspace.
"When any aircraft goes into those air spaces, you do not know what their intent is," Lt. Col. Alex Papp, who is often the lead pilot in an intercept, said.
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which is responsible for policing restricted airspace in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, set up a simulated intercept to mirror recent incidents over the Palm Beach County skies this year when Trump is in town.
For the demonstration, a Civil Air Patrol plane played the role of a pilot mistakenly flying through restricted airspace. The jets intercepted the plane and circled close.
"You have to initially respond with the amount of force, scrambling fighters in this case," Papp said. "You then establish communication and de-escalate the whole situation."
Papp said planes violating airspace in places like Mar-a-Lago are almost always piloted by those who are unaware of the no-fly zone established when Trump is visiting.
And when the F-15s intercept private planes, pilots see just how large the military fighter jets really are.
"I would bet the majority would be surprised, to be honest," Papp said.
In the simulation, the private pilot did not comply with the radio request from the F-15 to engage.
So, Papp piloted the F-15, armed with missiles on its wings, in a close pass in front of the private plane. It's a maneuver military pilots call a "head butt."
"I've never had to perform a head butt in real life because usually people notice there's a fighter pulled up on their wing," Papp said. "They get on their radio pretty fast, and they become compliant pretty quickly."
In the simulation, the pilot eventually complied, and the fighter jets returned to Homestead.
Eventually, the Federal Aviation Administration will consider issuing fines and suspending or revoking the licenses of pilots who violate the no-fly zone.
Since Trump took the Oath of Office in January, NORAD said it has had to scramble jets from around the Southeast U.S. on 24 occasions. Eight of those times, military pilots intercepted the planes that flew in the restricted airspace.
"We have been fairly busy lately," Papp, who was based at Homestead in 2020, the last full year of Donald Trump's first presidency.
Papp said there were far fewer intercepts then. The lieutenant colonel believes we'll see fewer no-fly zone violations over time as pilots pay more attention to the consequences.
