Trump's Boeing Hits VistaJet Aircraft

Right on the heels of BJT’s visit to West Palm Beach International Airport to inspect an ultra-long-range VistaJet Bombardier Global 7500 came word from the FAA that former President Donald Trump’s Boeing 757, after landing on Sunday, May 12, at the same airport around 1:20 a.m., was taxiing when it struck a parked VistaJet aircraft.

“Aicraft taxiing and winglet struck the rear elevator of a parked Vistajet,” the FAA notice reads. “The incident occurred in an area of the airport where the FAA does not direct aircraft,” according to a statement from the FAA. The notice identified the Boeing’s registration number as N757AF, the same number emblazoned on the side of Trump’s airplane.

According to the FAA, the Boeing's winglet made contact with the smaller bizjet’s rear elevator. No injuries have been reported, and no one was inside the VistaJet private airplane at the time of impact. It is unclear if Trump or anyone else was on the larger craft, but the accident occurred just hours after an appearance by the former president at a rally on the beach in Wildwood, N.J. on Saturday, May 11. On Wednesday, the former president was using a different, smaller plane as he landed at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

West Palm Beach International Airport is located six miles from Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach.

Trump's DJT Operations purchased the plane, which was previously owned by Paul Allen, the cofounder of Microsoft, in 2011. DJT Operations and the Trump Organization have not commented on the incident.

Trump is in Manhattan today, in criminal court as his trial continues. He has been accused of the felony of falsifying business records in an effort to conceal other crimes, including violating federal election law.

VistaJet had no comment when reached on Wednesday, and would not identify the damaged bizjet as a Bombardier or another type of airplane. The private aviation company boasts 18 Bombardier Global 7500 aircraft in its fleet, Leona Qi, president of VistaJet US, told BJT. 

The FAA is investigating the incident.