Air Force jets intercept unresponsive aircraft over Arizona Trump rally

Air Force F-16 fighter jets had to intercept an unresponsive aircraft flying over a Trump campaign rally in Bullhead City, Ariz., on Wednesday afternoon, the Pentagon confirmed.

The incident, which was caught on video as President Trump spoke to supporters, at first appeared to be a military flyover as an F-16 fired flares to ward off the other aircraft.

“Oh, look at that. Look, look, look,” Trump said, pointing at the white stream left by the flares. “Look at that. They gave the president a little display.”

But the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) later said in a statement that it directed the F-16 fighters to intercept the unidentified plane after it entered restricted airspace surrounding the rally and could not be contacted.

“The violating aircraft was non-responsive to initial intercept procedures, but established radio communications after NORAD aircraft deployed signal flares,” it said.

The violating aircraft was then “escorted out of the restricted area by the NORAD aircraft without further incident.”

No other details were given as to what type of aircraft violated the airspace or why they were flying in the area.

At the time of the incident, which took place approximately 25 minutes into the rally, Trump mistakenly told the crowd the aircraft were “four days old” F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters.

The Federal Aviation Administration typically employs temporary flight restriction areas in domestic airspace during major events, which are partly enforced by NORAD.