Did a video shared widely in April 2025 contain an authentic audio recording of a Spirit Airlines Flight 861 pilot landing at an airport despite orders from an air traffic controller to cede the runway to the U.S. president? No, that's not true: the audio was fake, and the incident was a fabrication. The account that originally posted the video describes its output as being "for entertainment purposes only."
The video was posted to TikTok on April 9, 2025 (archived here). It consisted of video clips of a Spirit airplane landing, and a snippet of Air Force One, along with audio of what appeared to be an exchange between an air traffic controller (ATC) and the pilot of Spirit Flight 861.
The ATC orders the pilot not to land because the (unnamed) U.S. president is on the runway, warning that the pilot will be fired and arrested if he does not comply. The pilot insists on landing, on the basis that he is carrying a donor heart that needs to be transported to a hospital as soon as possible.
The video can be viewed in full below:
@amirakajal #foryoupage ♬ original sound - kajalfcz
That conversation never took place and the audio was fake. The video was originally published on April 7, 2025 (archived here), by "KrispyFlights" -- a YouTube account that describes its output as being "for entertainment purposes only":
(Source: YouTube screenshot)
A glance at the account's feed shows that it routinely posts similarly dramatic (and fake) aviation-related disputes and arguments, with titles such as: "PILOT IGNORES VIP For Son's Birth"; "Spirit Challenges Delta to A RACE"; and "Pilot Ignores MAJOR Warning". Many of the videos use "Spirit 861" as the flight number in question:
(Source: YouTube screenshot)
