Small Plane Forced to Land by F-16 After Trump Air Space Violation in N.J., Police Say

A small plane carrying a couple to a hiking destination in New Jersey was forced to land in eastern Pennsylvania after touching down for fuel within a presidential no-fly zone.

Forks Township police described the incident to lehighvalleylive.com, saying the plane was escorted by an F-16 and U.S. Coast Guard helicopter to Braden Airpark in the Northampton County community.

It unfolded shortly before 1 p.m. when the yellow aircraft, according to police, landed to fuel up within a temporary flight restriction zone. The restrictions are in place because President Donald Trump is spending the weekend at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey’s Somerset County.

The pilot said the F-16, flying about 3 miles ahead, shot off flares to get his attention, and that he then switched on his emergency frequency, according to police Cpl. Shawn Hummer.

The Coast Guard alerted the pilot to the TFR and the plane was escorted to Braden to await agents from the U.S. Secret Service field office in Philadelphia.

A couple milled about Braden’s tarmac, occasionally checking on the plane, and declined to speak to a reporter.

They were headed from Mississippi to Blairstown Township in Warren County to do some hiking, according to Hummer.

“They’re fully cooperative,” Hummer said after a Forks officer stopped in at Braden to speak briefly with the couple. “They realize they did wrong.”

Pilots can avoid TFRs with maps and by having their flight plans confirmed, police said.

The Secret Service in a statement described the incident as follows:

“This afternoon, a small aircraft violated the restricted airspace near Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, N.J. The pilot of the small aircraft did not respond to radio communications and U.S. military aircraft were launched. Communications were subsequently established with the pilot and the aircraft landed as directed.

“The President was not in danger and the security of the complex was maintained throughout. Further investigation of the airspace violation is pending.”

Braden is owned by the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority.

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at [email protected].

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