On a Wednesday afternoon at Joint Base Andrews, the machinery of presidential travel revealed its human fragility when an emergency slide accidentally unfurled from the new Air Force One before President Trump could board. The incident — caused by an accidental trigger from an Air Force crew member — delayed his departure to Dallas and briefly required the older aircraft to stand in as backup. It is a small but telling moment in the longer story of a nation navigating the complexities of trust, transition, and the weight of symbols: a gifted plane, still being made ready, still earning its pla
Emergency slide deploys on new Air Force One, delaying Trump's Texas departure
They were checking it before. Just wanted to make sure.
Mark
So an emergency slide just popped open while the president was standing there. How does that even happen?
Mimi
An Air Force crew member triggered it accidentally. It's an inflatable mechanism—once activated, it deploys fully. In this case it happened before boarding, so it was caught and dealt with relatively quickly.
Luke
But we should be clear: we know it was accidental because sources told CBS News that. We don't have an official statement from the Air Force or the White House explaining exactly what the crew member was doing or how the trigger got pressed.
Mark
Trump said they were just checking it. Does that make sense?
Mimi
He framed it as a routine safety check, yes. Whether that was actually what was happening or whether it was an unplanned accident that he was characterizing charitably—that's harder to pin down from the reporting.
Luke
Right. The sources say it was accidental. Trump says they were checking it. Both could be true, or one could be the official spin on the other. The reporting doesn't resolve that.
Mark
And this is the new plane that's been having problems?
Mimi
Yes. It arrived from Qatar and has been in and out of service since early summer. There were issues in July that made Trump use the old plane instead, and the White House said it needed more security work.
Luke
Though we don't actually know what those issues were. We know he used the old plane after Turkey, and we know the White House said more work was needed. The specifics of what went wrong aren't in this reporting.
Mark
So this slide incident—does it change anything about whether he'll use the new plane?
Mimi
The White House has said he plans to use it for Ireland later this month. But an accidental deployment of a safety system is exactly the kind of thing that might prompt another delay.
Luke
We don't know if it will. That's speculation. What we know is he's scheduled to go, and the plane is supposed to be ready. Whether this incident changes that timeline isn't reported here.
Le Pouls
- A fully inflated emergency slide sprawled across the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, halting a presidential departure in its tracks before a single passenger had boarded.
- The accidental trigger by an Air Force crew member sent ground workers scrambling and prompted the White House to quietly roll the older Air Force One into position as a contingency.
- Trump walked toward reporters and reframed the spectacle as routine — a safety check, not a malfunction — but the optics of a backup plane standing by told a more complicated story.
- The slide was deflated, removed, and the new aircraft eventually lifted off for Dallas, but the episode added another entry to a growing log of caution surrounding the Qatar-gifted jet.
- With a planned overseas trip to Ireland later this month, the clock is running on whether the new Air Force One can fully earn the confidence its role demands.
On a Wednesday afternoon at Joint Base Andrews, the machinery of presidential travel revealed its human fragility when an emergency slide accidentally unfurled from the new Air Force One before President Trump could board. The incident — caused by an accidental trigger from an Air Force crew member — delayed his departure to Dallas and briefly required the older aircraft to stand in as backup. It is a small but telling moment in the longer story of a nation navigating the complexities of trust, transition, and the weight of symbols: a gifted plane, still being made ready, still earning its place in the order of things.
President Trump's Wednesday afternoon departure from Joint Base Andrews did not unfold as planned. As he prepared to leave Marine One and board the newly acquired Air Force One for a flight to Dallas, an inflatable emergency slide suddenly deployed on the tarmac — fully extended to the ground — after an Air Force crew member accidentally triggered the mechanism. Ground workers moved quickly to assess the situation while the White House positioned the older Air Force One nearby as a backup.
When reporters spotted the deployed slide, Trump walked over to address them directly. He described the moment as routine, saying the crew had simply been verifying that safety systems were functioning properly. He dismissed any suggestion of a security concern, and workers soon deflated and removed the slide. The new aircraft then departed for Texas without further trouble.
The incident was the latest in a series of complications surrounding the Qatar-gifted plane, which had been cycling in and out of active service since early summer. In July, Trump had quietly used the original Air Force One to depart a summit in Turkey, and the White House later acknowledged that additional security enhancements were needed before the newer jet could be fully relied upon. Wednesday's accidental deployment — harmless but conspicuous — reinforced why that cautious posture had taken hold.
Trump is expected to use the new Air Force One for a trip to Ireland later this month, leaving open the question of whether the remaining work will be completed in time and whether the aircraft can finally settle into the role it was meant to fill.
President Trump's departure from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday afternoon never quite went according to plan. As he prepared to leave Marine One and board the newly acquired Air Force One for a flight to Dallas, an inflatable emergency slide suddenly deployed on the tarmac, unfurling fully to the ground before anyone had intended it to. An Air Force crew member had accidentally triggered the mechanism, according to sources familiar with the incident. The mishap forced a delay while ground workers assessed the situation, and the White House quickly moved the older Air Force One into position as a backup aircraft.
The president was headed to Dallas for an event related to the Republican National Committee. When reporters on the tarmac spotted the deployed slide, Trump approached them to explain what was happening. He characterized the moment as routine maintenance rather than any kind of emergency or malfunction. "They were doing a check on the slide, you know?" he told the gathered press. When asked whether the incident raised security concerns about the aircraft, Trump dismissed the worry. He said the crew had simply wanted to verify that all safety systems were functioning properly before departure, and that they had already begun putting things back in order.
Workers eventually deflated the slide and removed it from the tarmac. The new Air Force One then took off without further incident, carrying the president to his Texas destination. The episode marked another chapter in the complicated rollout of the aircraft, which had arrived as a gift from Qatar and had been cycling in and out of active service since early summer. The plane had experienced enough issues that the White House had announced the president would continue relying primarily on the older Air Force One while the newer jet underwent additional security enhancements.
The history of the new aircraft had been marked by caution. In July, after a summit in Turkey, Trump had secretly used the original Air Force One to depart rather than the new plane. He then flew the Qatar-gifted aircraft home from the United Kingdom, but the White House subsequently signaled that additional work was needed before it could be fully trusted for regular use. The Wednesday tarmac incident at Joint Base Andrews underscored why that measured approach made sense. An accidental deployment of a critical safety system, even one that caused no harm and was quickly remedied, was a reminder that the aircraft still required careful attention.
Looking ahead, Trump is scheduled to travel to Ireland later in the month, and the White House has indicated he plans to use the new Air Force One for that overseas trip. Whether the aircraft will be ready by then, and whether any additional issues emerge during the remaining security enhancements, remains to be seen.
Citations marquantes
They were doing a check on the slide. They just wanted to make sure everything works perfectly.— President Trump, speaking to reporters on the tarmac
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