An unidentified Air Force crew member is being blamed for the accidental deployment of an inflatable emergency slide aboard Air Force One more than a week ago, which delayed Trump’s trip to the first-ever GOP midterm convention in Dallas, Texas.
It was the latest incident in what has been a summer of issues that saw the Qatari-gifted, luxury jumbo jet pulled in and out of service. The new luxury jumbo jet has been valued at an estimated $400 million, donated to the U.S. government last year as an “unconditional” gift from Qatar.
At the unveiling this past June, Trump celebrated the gift.
“This plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody’s ever seen before,” the president said during a speech at Joint Base Andrews.
What Happened With the Slide Mishap
A source told ABC News that unidentified “military personnel accidentally triggered the slide.” Air Force One is operated and maintained by active-duty U.S. Air Force personnel.
Trump waited for about 20 minutes inside Marine One on the tarmac while the deployed slide was removed.
Trump immediately addressed the matter with reporters on the flight, appearing to suggest the slide was deployed intentionally as a safety “check.”
“They’re checking the slide over here. And I think it’s gonna take 15 minutes. They were doing a check on the slide, you know, the emergency—so I think it takes about 15 minutes,” Trump told reporters last Wednesday, before adding that it was safe to fly again.
Crews removed the deployed slide from the plane and hauled it away on the back of a pick-up truck before the plane took off for Dallas.
Slides are not typically checked by deploying them before departure.
New Air Force One, Concerns
The new Air Force One has not been in continuous service since Trump unveiled it in June.
The president secretly used the former Air Force One to leave Turkey after a summit in July due to a credible missile threat.
At the time, the White House said the president would continue using the old Air Force One while additional security enhancements were installed.
The new Air Force One has raised questions among some lawmakers and ethics experts over the foreign gift, which is considered unprecedented.
Trump has a full schedule this week in Washington and is also on the road. He’s headed to New York on Monday, where he will address the 81st United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.
During the annual conference, Trump is expected to hold sideline meetings with various world leaders, including a possible discussion with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the continuing war in Ukraine.
Later this week, Trump will return to Washington to host China’s Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday, with a state dinner and a tour of the National Archives on Friday.
