Emergency Slide Falters on Air Force One Before Dallas Trip
President Donald Trump was supposed to board his new plane for a speech in Dallas. Instead, he waited on the helicopter for twenty minutes while a team scrambled to fix a mechanical glitch. Military personnel accidentally triggered an inflatable slide on the aircraft Wednesday. The slide inflated just before he was set to board. He stayed aboard Marine One while officials checked the gear.
The president told reporters the team was just checking the slide. He said it would take about 15 minutes. He confirmed the plane was safe to fly before he boarded. The plane landed safely in Dallas around 5:15 p.m. ET. It arrived a couple of hours later than expected.
Trump remained on the tarmac for several minutes before he eventually walked out to speak with the press pool. He made it clear there were no security concerns during that long wait. "No, they were checking it before, and they just wanted to make sure," he said, according to Fox News. He noted the team had already put the slide up. Journalists inquired whether he considered the plane safe for flight. Trump chuckled and gave a simple answer. "Yeah, I am or I wouldn't be on it," he said, according to the Daily Wire. White House communications director Steven Cheung later issued a statement. Cheung added that the jet is on its way to Dallas. He noted he would deliver a speech to a sold-out crowd.
The scene caused some confusion on the ground as the older blue-and-white presidential jet moved onto the tarmac nearby. It served as a possible backup while the new slide remained out. The older jet deployed its front and rear stairs. This happened while the new slide remained out. The new door is opposite the one Trump usually uses. The White House print pool spotted the inflatable slide. From the front door on the right side of the Boeing 747, it stretched out.
The door was not the main entrance. Concerns have swirled around this Qatari-donated jet for months. The Secret Service once recommended Trump fly on the older plane. Two sources familiar with the matter acknowledged this in July. Despite those past concerns, the White House insists the new plane is secure. Cheung called it a state-of-the-art aircraft with high-level security protocols. Crews removed the slide eventually. Trump left on the new aircraft with no additional issues.
This is not the first time questions arose about this jet. In August, the president slipped off a new plane via a catering truck. He boarded a different military aircraft to leave a NATO meeting in Turkey. Staffers and reporters remained on the original plane during that switch. An assassination threat from Iran apparently caused the move. The new aircraft was donated by Qatar in 2025. Modifications for presidential use occurred before Trump first flew on it July 1.
The plane came under scrutiny after that switch in July. Yet the White House has repeated that it meets all safety needs. The incident happened Wednesday at Joint Base Andrews. Trump was headed to the Republican Midterm Convention. The slide check delayed his departure, but the flight went ahead. The president spoke to a crowd in Dallas that night.
