Emergency slide deploys on Qatari-gifted Air Force One before Trump departs for GOP convention

By Alejandra Jaramillo, Kristen Holmes, Kevin Liptak, CNN

(CNN) — A military aide who was working on the Qatari-gifted jet that’s serving as Air Force One accidentally deployed an emergency slide on Wednesday, sources familiar with the matter told CNN, delaying President Donald Trump’s trip to Dallas for the GOP’s midterm convention.

It was quickly determined that the president would still take the plane to Dallas, one source said.

Talking to reporters on the tarmac, Trump suggested the deployment of the slide was intentional.

“They were doing a check on the slide, you know, in the emergency. So, I think it takes about 15 minutes,” Trump told reporters before boarding the plane.

Trump landed at Joint Base Andrews aboard Marine One at 2:02 pm ET. Around the same time, the emergency slide was seen extended from the new plane that the president has often touted as being superior to the old presidential plane.

Trump remained aboard Marine One for more than 20 minutes as the situation unfolded on the tarmac. The older Air Force One with a light blue paint job soon pulled up and parked behind the new aircraft, and crews were told the older plane was serving as Wednesday’s backup.

At 2:24 p.m., the stairs of Marine One were extended, and the president stepped off to board the new jet.

Asked whether he knew the reason for the inspection and whether there was a security concern, Trump said, “I guess they’ve already put it up. They want to make sure everything works perfectly.”

When asked if he was confident that it was safe to fly, Trump responded, “Yeah, I am, or I wouldn’t be on it.”

The White House pointed to Trump’s comments.

“As the President has said, the slide was checked out to make sure everything works perfectly. Air Force One is on its way to Dallas so he can deliver his much-anticipated speech to a raucous and sold-out crowd,” communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last week that while the Qatari-gifted jet is already well-equipped, it will be sent for further upgrades in October.

“It has a lot of stuff, but to max it out, meaning you can go into any territory, it’ll take about 60 days,” Trump said.

He’s planning to take the Qatari-gifted jet when he travels to Ireland later this week, a senior White House official previously told CNN, just two months after he flew it to Turkey and then secretly left the country on an alternate plane because of security concerns.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.