Air Force One carrying President Donald Trump was forced to make an emergency landing at Joint Base Andrews Tuesday night after going dark right after takeoff.
The president’s plan experienced an electrical malfunction that caused lights to go out in the cabin shortly after takeoff. The plane landed safely and the president boarded a replacement aircraft to make his trip to Switzerland.
The Boeing 747-200B departed Joint Base Andrews in Maryland shortly after 9:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday with Trump aboard, bound for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. About 30 minutes into the roughly 7.5-hour flight, reporters on board said the lights in the press cabin suddenly went black. No explanation was immediately offered to those on board.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the decision to return was made after takeoff when the crew aboard Air Force One identified “a minor electrical issue” and that “out of an abundance of caution” the plane was turned around.
The aircraft landed back at Joint Base Andrews at 11:07 p.m., about 90 minutes after departure.
The president and his traveling party, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and several other senior officials, disembarked and boarded a smaller Boeing 757 aircraft for the transatlantic journey. The replacement plane, an Air Force C-32 normally used by the president for domestic trips to smaller airports, departed shortly after midnight Wednesday.
Trump arrived safely in Zurich around 6:45 a.m. ET Wednesday, more than two hours behind his original schedule.
The incident raised questions about the aging Air Force One fleet. The president uses one of two custom Boeing 747-200B planes that the Air Force calls VC-25 aircraft. It was not immediately clear which of the two planes experienced the electrical trouble Tuesday night.
The two planes currently used as Air Force One have been flying for nearly four decades. Boeing has been working on replacements, but the program has faced severe delays.
Leavitt joked to reporters on Air Force One Tuesday night that the $400 million Qatari jet the nation gave Trump was sounding “much better” right now as a short-term Air Force One replacement. Last year, the ruling family of Qatar gifted Trump the expensive luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo, a controversial move that faced criticism over ethics implications. That plane is currently being retrofitted to meet security requirements.
When Trump leaves office, he said he will take the gifted plane with him and use it as part of his presidential library.
Air safety incidents involving the U.S. president or vice president are rare but not unprecedented. Air Force One aborted a landing due to bad weather while carrying President Barack Obama to an event in Connecticut in 2011.
The Trump administration has experienced several high-profile aircraft incidents in recent months. Last February, an Air Force plane carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Germany had to return to Washington because of a mechanical issue. In October, a military plane carrying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had to make an emergency landing in the United Kingdom due to a crack in the windshield.
Trump’s trip to Davos comes at a crucial moment for global economic policy. The president is expected to address world leaders and business executives about his administration’s trade and economic agenda.
The World Economic Forum in Davos brings together world leaders, business executives, and economic policymakers from around the globe for discussions on global economic challenges and opportunities.