US President Donald Trump departed Washington for Texas on Wednesday aboard his Qatar-gifted Air Force One jumbo jet after an embarrassing incident in which an emergency evacuation slide was accidentally deployed and then removed shortly before he boarded.
Military personnel inadvertently triggered the slide, according to a person briefed on the matter. The incident occurred just before Trump was due to board for a flight to Dallas, where he was scheduled to attend the first-ever Republican midterm convention. The unplanned deployment caused a brief delay to his departure.
When a journalist asked the President whether he was confident the aircraft was safe to fly, Trump was characteristically blunt: "Yeah, I am, or I wouldn't be on it." The slide was subsequently seen being removed from the scene before the flight proceeded.
What we know about the Air Force One emergency slide incident
The aircraft involved is a Boeing 747-8, which is typically fitted with 12 emergency inflatable evacuation slides. These slides are engineered to allow passengers to evacuate safely from a cabin height of approximately nine metres above the ground. The US Air Force did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident.
It is understood the slide was removed and Trump boarded the aircraft without further complication, with the flight to Dallas ultimately proceeding as planned.
Trump's Qatar-gifted plane: background and what's next
Trump began flying aboard the Qatari-donated 747 on 1 July, after accepting the aircraft as a gift in 2025. There was a concerted push to fast-track the plane's renovation ahead of the President taking it into service.
The incident comes as Trump confirmed last week that the 747 is set to be taken out of service in October for unspecified security upgrades. Those works are expected to take around 60 days to complete.
Wednesday's slide deployment adds an unexpected footnote to the aircraft's short but eventful operational history, underscoring the logistical complexities that have accompanied Trump's use of the controversial gift jet since it entered presidential service earlier this year.
