An emergency slide was deployed on Donald Trump’s new Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews. The incident briefly raised questions before takeoff. The unusual scene unfolded as the president prepared to leave for Texas. A Qatari-gifted Boeing 747, serving as the new Air Force One, sat on the tarmac with an inflatable emergency slide extending from its right-side front door.
Donald Trump’s Texas trip delayed after AF1’s emergency slide incident
The slide appeared shortly after Marine One rolled to a stop near the presidential aircraft. Trump remained aboard the helicopter as the scene played out, according to the White House print pool. The pool reported that the deployed slide emerged from a door opposite the entrance Trump typically uses to board.
The older white-and-blue Air Force One simultaneously moved out of its hangar and into position a few hundred yards behind the newer jet. It then deployed its front and rear stairs. Marine One’s door stayed closed as of 2:19 p.m., fueling speculation about whether the slide deployment had disrupted travel plans.
A person briefed on the situation told Fox News that military personnel had accidentally triggered the slide. However, Trump later came out of Marine One and addressed reporters on the tarmac, clarifying that the deployment was intentional. “They were checking it before, and they just wanted to make sure,” Trump said. “So they’ve, I guess, already put it up. They want to make sure everything works perfectly.”
Furthermore, White House communications director Steven Cheung confirmed the aircraft was cleared for the president’s trip. “As the President has said, the slide was checked out to make sure everything works perfectly,” Cheung told the outlet. “Air Force One is on its way to Dallas so he can deliver his much-anticipated speech to a raucous and sold-out crowd.”
It was not immediately clear whether the safety check would affect which aircraft Trump uses for his next flight. The president left for Dallas aboard Air Force One following the inspection.
