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Fact or Fiction: Spirit jetliner pilots flout orders from control tower?

Posted at 7:36 PM, Jan 12, 2023
and last updated 2023-01-12 22:36:33-05

(KGTV) — A YouTube video getting sent around shows a Spirit jetliner taking off with dubbed-over audio of the pilots flouting orders from the control tower to stay on the ground because of an oncoming tornado.

In the video, the alleged air traffic controller says "All aircraft hold position, there's a tornado coming."

When the pilot resists, the controller says "I ordered a ground stop!"

The pilot then responds with "Yeah but not an air stop,” and the plane takes off.

But this is fiction.

A spokesperson for the FAA confirmed to the website Snopes that the video is a fake.

Videos that poke fun at the quality of Spirit’s operations are a staple online, and this appears to be just another one.