Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination for President on Thursday. His Vice Presidential running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, almost wasn’t there because his team had forgotten to secure clearance for the charter bringing him to the convention to enter its restricted airspace.
As reported by PaxEx.aero, there’s been restricted airspace around the Republican National Convention.
The 22-year old Boeing 737, originally delivered to air berlin and operated by Eastern Airways, didn’t request the proper permissions to enter and was initially held circling before forced to divert to Madison, Wisconsin.
Remarkably, it took 15 minutes for pilots of the aircraft to even identify that they were carrying the Vice Presidential nominee onboard, although that alone was not enough to gain clearance.
The plane pictured is indeed not Trump Force one but a 737 for Vance. Looking for the tail number. https://t.co/dE4ogO6iMw pic.twitter.com/ZqCmMprb6r
— Jack Sweeney (@Jxck_Sweeney) July 15, 2024
It’s presumably Eastern, the charter operator of the aircraft, that failed in its trip planning for the hop from Kansas City to Milwaukee.
The campaign plane was told they weren’t allowed into the restricted airspace – and that they had to maintain 7,000 feet “and advise what your intentions are.”
- The pilots said they had the password.
- Air traffic control consulted with the Secret Service over whether to allow the plane entry.
- Pilots stating they had the VP nominee on board was not enough.
- The aircraft then had to divert to Madison, Wisconsin, get inspected, and fly on to Milwaukee.
PaxEx.aero transcribed relevant pieces of the air traffic control communications.
Air traffic control: Eastern Express 100 be advised, you’re not allowed to come inbound with the current TFR access. Descend and maintain 7000 and advise what your intentions are.
Pilot: Descend and maintaining 7,000, and we have a password to get in.
Air traffic control: Eastern Express 100 we’re still working on whatever’s going on with your approval, just continue inbound for now.
Air traffic control:: We’re told you need to go to either Grand Rapids or Madison for screening. I can’t let you come inbound. So let me know which one of those you want to go to. …Eastern Express 100, if you’re not familiar with the area Madison is quite a bit closer.
Pilot: Do you know what they mean by screening?
Air traffic control: Eastern express 100 I don’t know. It is just screening for approval to go into the area. That’s all I know about it, and they said you don’t have it.
Air traffic control: What’s your tail number?
Pilot: -1-7 X-ray Alpha. And this is the vice presidential candidate’s airplane. …Do you need a code from us?
Air traffic control:Not at this time. We’re in coordination with the Secret Service to figure it out. It is all being done behind me. Maintain your present course. …I think they did all they could for you, but I guess you still have to go for screening. So when you know where you want to go let me know; it is either Madison or Grand Rapids.
Air traffic control: Be advised, when you get a chance, the Secret Service does want you to call the SOC.
Pilot: Call who?
Air traffic control: The S-O-C. The number is in the TFR information. … I’m also being advised now that you know you can’t come in we’ve gotta take you somewhere right now. No holding in the TFR
Pilot: We’re going to Madison.
Air traffic control: Roger. You’re cleared to Madison via current heading 330. Maintain 6000.
This isn’t Eastern’s first campaign rodeo, or first with a Trump campaign. They operated then-Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence’s plane as well.
@ Gary — I can’t wait until Harris-Shapiro (or Cooper) crush these evil crooks in November.
The SOC is the security operations center for the designated national special security event. In other words, the Secret Service person assigned to the tower/ATC for the area had probably already called up and told it’s a no-go into MKE because the flight hasn’t been prescreened and clear and they won’t do it on the fly under the circumstances.
Vance was already in MKE before Thursday this week. For what purpose was Vance not sticking around Milwaukee after he and his wife got into town? Vance has been so propped up by Thiel over the years that I have assumed Vance is a wannabe snake.
@Gene: You keep forgetting that this is a TRAVEL BLOG. We’re all tired of hearing your political crap.
TexasTJ hasn’t noticed that this blog and even this piece reflects Señor Leff’s interest in political matters and that there is a recurring expression of that interest by mixing politics and political characters with travel-related stories?
Always chaos around Trump and is campaign. Always.
@ TexasTJ — That’s nice.
Dear Eastern Express:
^^^There’s supposed to be some LOLs in there.
The flight path looks suspiciously like one of those genitalia outlines. Make of that what you will.
One of the most poorly researched piece in a while. Vance wasn’t ON the plane…it was going to be flying him out. Big difference between diverting the candidate and diverting a plane that would be flying him later.
Obviously bad miscommunication between pilots in the plane & tower. Hopefully it got fixed properly
I see this as a Secret Service screw up. They already have Vance under protection. They should be communicating with every person necessary in Vance’s team. and figuring out all of the logistics.
If there was a Secret Service screw-up in this matter, I would like to know what the Secret Service screwed up in this matter. Sounds to me more like the airspace security branch of the Secret Service did exactly what it’s supposed to do under circumstances like this.
The mapped out flight pattern looks like an airplane seat that is unlikely to go flat. Reject! Not good enough for the fake hillbilly who lived high on the hog before entering politics.
The second biggest Secret Service screwup in the past 8 days has been their not giving Tr*mp a punch in the gut to keep his head down and get him out of that July 13th rally event in Pennsylvania so fast and in such a way that it wouldn’t give Tr*mp a chance to demand his shoes get put back on his feet, raise his fist for his fans and repeatedly encourage his fans to engage in violence with his fighting words on the way out of the rally just after the registered Republican shooter (who shot his ear) was reported as being down.
This plane incident was exactly as it should be on the Secret Service side. It’s the flight operator and the Republican campaign side that drove this incident.