US President Donald Trump departed Washington, DC, for Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday aboard the Boeing 747-8 aircraft gifted to the United States by Qatar, after an emergency evacuation slide was accidentally deployed shortly before takeoff.
According to a person briefed on the incident, military personnel accidentally triggered the emergency slide as Trump was preparing to board the aircraft.
The incident briefly delayed Trump's departure as the slide was removed from the plane.
Asked by a journalist whether he was confident the aircraft was safe to fly, Trump replied, “Yeah, I am, or I wouldn’t be on it.”
The deployed emergency slide was later seen being taken away from the aircraft.
The Boeing 747-8 is typically equipped with 12 inflatable emergency evacuation slides, which are designed to help passengers safely reach the ground from a height of about 30 feet.
The US Air Force had not immediately commented on the incident.
Trump began using the Qatar-gifted aircraft on July 1 after accepting it as a gift the previous year. The plane underwent an accelerated renovation programme before being placed into presidential service.
Trump said last week that the aircraft would be removed from service in October for unspecified security upgrades expected to take about 60 days.
The president was travelling to Dallas to attend the first-ever Republican midterm convention.
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