When an emergency slide on Trump’s new Air Force One deployed on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, delaying President Donald Trump’s flight, the president was asked if he was sure that his new presidential jet was safe to fly.
Trump’s reply: “Yeah, I am, or I wouldn’t be on it.”
Trump’s latest addition to the presidential fleet, a VC-25B Bridge aircraft, is meant as an interim jet to bridge the gap between the older VC-25A planes from the 1990s and Boeing’s forthcoming but long-delayed VC-25B presidential jets.
Since Trump’s first flight on the Qatari luxury jet on July 1, the new Air Force One has sparked security concerns and experienced operational mishaps as it has been brought in and out of service.
“We don’t comment on specific upgrades or modifications to Air Force One,” a senior administration official told Business Insider. “We maintain a consistent posture that ensures a safe, secure, and reliable capability for the President of the United States and routinely evolve the capability as required to maintain that posture. It is the greatest presidential plane ever built.”
Here’s a timeline of its service as Air Force One, and the issues it has experienced thus far.
June 19: Trump unveiled the new VC-25B Bridge at Joint Base Andrews
The new Air Force One, a customized Boeing 747-8i valued at around $400 million, was gifted to Trump by the Qatari royal family. With a range of 8,900 miles at 660 miles per hour and four GEnx-2B engines, each with 66,500 pounds of thrust, the VC-25B Bridge can fly faster and farther than the old VC-25A presidential jets.
The plane was also painted in the red, white, and blue, a color scheme Trump has advocated for since his first White House term.
“With the extraordinary devotion of many of you here today, this plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody’s ever seen before,” Trump said in his remarks at Joint Base Andrews.
July 8: Trump did not board the VC-25B Bridge in Turkey amid security concerns
After taking the VC-25B Bridge on its first trip overseas to Turkey for a NATO summit, Trump announced on Truth Social that he planned to fly on the old VC-25A Air Force One jet for “old time’s sake” for his return trip to the US.
The Washington Post reported that he flew on neither plane and was secretly transferred onto a C-32A via a catering truck due to threats from Iran and flown to the UK. The VC-25A continued to publicly use the call sign “Air Force One,” despite the president not flying on board, serving as a decoy aircraft. He eventually reboarded the VC-25B for the flight back to the US.
The incident raised questions about the VC-25B Bridge’s safety and defensive capabilities. The New York Times reported that the new Air Force One plane was not equipped with the antimissile capabilities built into previous presidential planes. The Justice Department responded by issuing subpoenas to the journalists from The New York Times who reported the story, which were later withdrawn.
July 19: The VC-25B Bridge was temporarily removed from service
Trump told reporters that the new Air Force One would be removed from service for about a month to be “maxed out,” but did not elaborate on the enhancements it would receive.
September 9: Trump’s flight was delayed after the plane’s emergency slide was deployed
Trump’s trip to Dallas was delayed after military personnel accidentally triggered Air Force One’s emergency slide on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Trump told reporters that crew members were “checking the slide.” After about 20 minutes, the VC-25B Bridge continued on to Dallas.
“As the president has said, the slide was checked out to make sure everything works perfectly,” White House communications director Steven Cheung told Business Insider. “Air Force One went on its way to Dallas so he could deliver his much-anticipated speech to a raucous and sold-out crowd.”
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