Airplane Intercepted in Martha’s Vineyard over Vacationing Obamas

“Cessna 172” by stuart.mike via flickr/creative commons

A private airplane’s pilot found himself in trouble this week at the Vineyard after unwittingly flying into the protected airspace atop the vacationing Obamas.

It’s a huge mistake to make. Imagine taking a leisurely early afternoon flight over the island in your Cessna 172, only to be intercepted by a pair of F-15 fighter jets and a Coast Guard chopper.

“Don’t be like this guy,” the North American Aerospace Defense Command tweeted on Wednesday.

REMINDER! Restricted flying over Martha’s Vineyard until Aug 21. Don’t be like this guy… Check NOTAMs. #FlySafehttps://t.co/CgJpIwqEqf

— NORAD & USNORTHCOM (@NoradNorthcom) August 17, 2016

Navy Lt. Marco Chouinard, a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, says the fighter jets escorted the plane outside the no-go-zone to nearby Nantucket Memorial Airport, where police were waiting with a few questions. The Boston Globe reports the pilot, who hasn’t been identified, isn’t facing charges.

It’s likely that the pilot neglected to take heed of a “notice to airmen” that restricted travel over the island for the duration of the first family’s stay. A breach like that is the kind of thing Chouinard says NORAD constantly tries to warn amateur aviators about, at air shows, during flight training, and online. Would it have been a frightening experience to all of a sudden be intercepted midair like that?

“I would imagine,” Choinard says.

The president and his family are spending two weeks in Chilmark, where Obama also showed up at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton this week. They’ll be there until August 21.