What happened at the Palm Beach Airport on Sunday, hours before Trump was due to fly?

A reported drone incursion at the Palm Beach Airport on Sunday caused panic hours before President Donald Trump was to board Air Force One for Washington DC. However, White House and Secret Service later stated that a private plane lost communications with air traffic control, triggering the scare. Officials were forced to impose a ground stop and scramble helicopters to tackle the situation. Some reports suggest that the Air Force also scrambled F-16 fighter jets and deployed flares. White House and Secret Service confirmed that there was no risk to Air Force One or the President's safety. Trump later safely boarded the plane. "The civilian aircraft violated the Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) at approximately 1:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The aircraft was safely escorted out of the area by NORAD aircraft,” the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service said in a statement. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, which controls the airspace over the US and Canada, shared the official reason.

The incident came to light when a Delta pilot informed passengers that there was a security scare at the airport, after which helicopters were dispatched. At the time, a possible drone incursion was believed to be the reason, but later the issue turned out to be linked to a private plane. “The flares were used to draw attention from or communicate with the pilot. Flares are employed with the highest regard for safety, burn out quickly and completely, and pose no danger to people on the ground.”

“A general aviation aircraft was briefly out of communication with the air traffic control tower at Palm Beach International Airport, but contact was ultimately established, and the ground stop was lifted,” a White House official told The New York Post. Helicopters were scrambled to investigate the security scare, but a Secret Service spokesperson told the outlet that the helicopter was likely not related to the incident.