The US military has confirmed that a private jet ‘accidentally’ landed at RAF Fairford before officials and Ministry of Defence Police responded.
The Cessna Citation XL, registration D-CJMK, touched down at the Gloucestershire airbase at around 9.30am on Saturday 12 September.
Using the callsign VistaJet373, the aircraft had departed London City Airport and was understood to have been heading for Cotswold Airport at Kemble.
Instead, the jet landed on runway 27 at RAF Fairford, approximately 15 miles east of its intended destination.
The aircraft was met by US military personnel and remained at the airbase for almost three hours before departing for Cotswold Airport at around 12.15pm.
Wiltshire 999s approached the US Air Force, Ministry of Defence and VistaJet for comment on the day of the incident.
The Ministry of Defence directed enquiries to the US Air Force, but no response was received from the American military at the time.
Nine days after the incident, a spokesperson for the 501st Combat Support Wing has now confirmed the accidental landing.
They said: “The 501st Combat Support Wing is aware of the accidental landing of a civilian aircraft at RAF Fairford on 12 September 2026.
“Partnered with the Ministry of Defence Police, base officials executed established protocols to manage the situation and ensure the safety of all involved personnel.
“We appreciate our continued partnership with the MoD and the shared dedication to the security of RAF Fairford.”
Aviation photographer Jamie Wilkins, of Black Cat Aviation, witnessed the incident and described the landing as unauthorised.
He said: “An interesting morning at Fairford with “VistaJet373”, a Cessna Citation XL (D-CJMK), making an unauthorised landing, much to the bases dismay.
“The aircraft left London City Airport with a planned flight to Kemble Cotswold Airport a short time afterwards.
“For reasons known only to those in the cockpit (and subsequently the surrounding US Military personnel) they landed approximately 15 miles East on RAF Fairford’s runway 27.
“The aircraft was held on the apron for almost 3 hours to fill out the required investigational paperwork and was allowed to depart for Kemble at 12.15pm.”
RAF Fairford has a significant US Air Force presence and is used as a forward operating location for American bomber deployments in Europe.
Its runway and infrastructure support strategic aircraft including the B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortress.
