Trump Flight to London Has Close Encounter With Spirit Jet (3)

A Spirit Airlines Inc. passenger jet got a little too close for comfort with a Boeing Co. 747 jumbo ferrying US President Donald Trump to London on Tuesday as the aircraft traveled through New York’s famously congested skies.

Air Force One and Spirit Flight 1300, an Airbus SE A321 jet bound from Fort Lauderdale to Boston, were heading over Long Island when an air traffic controller noticed their altitudes were similar and flight paths converging. He repeatedly tried to alert the Spirit pilots to change their course, scolding them: “Pay attention!”

While the aircraft remained miles apart and were never ...