Jared Isaacman's Bombardier Global Express XRS N82EM lands in Tuscaloosa for second time in a day

Jared Isaacman's Bombardier Global Express XRS, tail number N82EM, flew from Key Field / Meridian Regional Airport (KMEI) in Mississippi to Tuscaloosa National Airport (KTCL) in Alabama on Saturday, October 24, 2026. The flight departed at 20:35 UTC and landed at 20:48 UTC, spending 13 minutes in the air.

The great-circle distance between the two airports is 86 nautical miles, or 99 miles. The aircraft averaged 405 knots ground speed and reached a top speed of 381 knots. Its highest altitude during the short hop was 10,675 feet. The flight burned an estimated 91 US gallons of fuel, producing about 874 kilograms of CO2, roughly equal to driving a car 2,164 miles. N82EM is an Ultra Long Range jet with a range of 6,160 nautical miles, a ceiling of 51,000 feet, and seating for up to 16 passengers.

This was the second tracked landing at Tuscaloosa in the ten-flight window from October 18 to October 24. The previous landing at Tuscaloosa was on October 24, just hours before this flight. The aircraft's home base is Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Usual destinations on file include Washington Dulles International Airport and the Space Florida Launch and Landing Facility in Titusville. The four most recent flights before this one were a round trip between Allentown and New Century on October 18, followed by a New Century to Las Vegas leg, a Las Vegas to New Century leg, and a New Century to Washington leg on October 20, a Washington to Allentown leg on October 21, an Allentown to Washington leg on October 23, a Washington to Titusville leg on October 23, a Titusville to Naples leg on October 23, a Naples to Tuscaloosa leg on October 24, and a Tuscaloosa to Meridian leg on October 24. Another tracked aircraft, a Bombardier Challenger 600 belonging to Kid Rock, landed at Tuscaloosa about 3 hours earlier.

Jared Isaacman founded Shift4, a payments company based in Allentown, after dropping out of high school. He also started Draken International, which trains fighter pilots using former military jets. He paid for and commanded two private SpaceX missions, Inspiration4 in 2021 and Polaris Dawn in 2024, where he made the first commercial spacewalk. He was confirmed as NASA administrator in late 2025. Allentown is the base for Shift4 and the owner company JDI Holdings LLC, which matches Isaacman's initials and hometown.

The flight from Meridian to Tuscaloosa used 1 percent of the aircraft's range. The Bombardier Global Express XRS entered service in 2006 and is known for improved range and performance over the original Global Express.

Tuscaloosa National Airport's longest runway is 6,498 feet at an elevation of 170 feet. Meridian's longest runway is 10,003 feet at 297 feet. The distance from the home base at Lehigh Valley International Airport to Tuscaloosa is 734 nautical miles.

The aircraft's top speed is Mach 0.89, or 488 knots. The Bombardier Global Express XRS burns an estimated 430 US gallons of fuel per hour. In the 30 days before this flight, the aircraft flew 10 flights totaling 13.9 hours in the air, covering about 5,383 nautical miles and producing an estimated 57,257 kilograms of CO2.

The longest leg in those 30 days was New Century to Las Vegas on October 18, covering 979 nautical miles. The most common destinations in that window were Washington and New Century, each with two landings. Eight airports in one country were used during that period.