First Turkey 'Secret' Switch, Now 'Accidental' Slide Deployment: What Happened At Trump's Qatari Air Force One

(MENAFN- Live Mint) US President Donald Trump's departure for his Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, was unexpectedly delayed after the emergency slide on the Qatari-gifted jet used as Air Force One was deployed.

Trump arrived at Joint Base Andrews by helicopter on Wednesday. He was forced to remain on board for around 20 minutes as the inflatable slide remained deployed near the front of the plane, Bloomberg reported.

Also Read | Emergency slide deploys on Qatari-gifted Air Force One before Trump flight

He had to wait in his helicopter before being able to board the plane following the incident. Workers on the ground eventually removed the slide, allowing Trump to get underway.

US President Donald Trump's Qatari-gifted Air Force On was delayed on the tarmac on Wednesday after an emergency inflatable slide accidentally deployed, raising fresh questions over the safety of the jet.

What exactly happened?

Trump appeared to indicate that the emergency slide was deployed intentionally as he waited for about 20 minutes inside Marine One on the tarmac.

The 80-year-old reportedly said that inspectors were checking one of the Boeing 747's inflatable slides used for emergency evacuations.

"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 said on the tarmac before finally boarding Air Force One.

Also Read | Why Trump switched from Boeing 747-8 to legacy Air Force One? Report reveals....

But a person briefed on the situation later told AFP that "military personnel accidentally triggered the slide."

Asked by ABC News earlier why the slide was being checked and if there was a security concern, Trump said they just wanted to make sure it "works perfectly."

Slides are not typically checked by deploying them before departure as it is a time-consuming process to remove and replace them once they are deployed, the report added.

The safety of Qatari plane

Air Force One is the name given to an airplane carrying the US head of state.

According to reports, the plane's safety has been the subject of recurring questions, and the issue came to a head during a recent dramatic incident in Turkey, where Trump secretly switched to a different aircraft amid security concerns.

Asked by an AFP reporter on Wednesday whether Trump was sure the jet was safe, Trump responded:“Yeah, I am, or I wouldn't be on it.”

Also Read | New York Times journalists subpoenaed over security report on new Air Force One

This gave reporters time to observe an inflatable slide deployed on the right side of the jet, as well as the former presidential plane being repositioned from its hangar onto the tarmac, with its boarding bridges extended.

The current Air Force One eventually took off and landed in Texas, where Trump is to speak at a Republican convention in a bid to rally his party ahead of November's midterm elections.

"As the president has said, the slide was checked out to make sure everything works perfectly," White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement to AFP, adding that Trump would "deliver his much-anticipated speech to a raucous and sold-out crowd."

Security and the secret switch

The Qatari plane, repainted in a red, white and blue livery chosen by Trump, was last in the spotlight in July, when Trump decided at the last minute not to join press and top administration members on the jet leaving the NATO summit in Turkey

Trump pretended to board the old Air Force One as planned - only to secretly deplane from a different door, into a catering truck that took him to a third plane.

The move was in response to a reported security threat from Iran involving a surface-to-air missile.

Trump later confirmed he secretly switched planes when leaving the NATO summit in Turkey.

“It's only up to the Secret Service. I just follow what they'd like to do, so I go by Secret Service and the military,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

Trump recently announced that work to enhance security measures on the new jet would begin in October and take two months - a month longer than he had previously said.

Qatar's gift

The Qatari royal family donated the luxurious jet last year after Trump complained about the condition of the two older Air Force One aircraft, which feature a distinctive white, silver and robin's egg blue color scheme and have been in service since 1990.

The donated plane, valued at several hundred million dollars, has raised major ethical and constitutional questions regarding gifts a US president may receive from foreign governments.

But it also raised questions about the security of military equipment given by a foreign power.

The jet has already been refitted by the military, and is to be used until Boeing delivers two new aircraft in the coming years.

Trump has indicated that he intends to keep the Qatari plane for his future presidential museum.

(With inputs from agencies)

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