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Why did Trump's plane return mid-flight en route to Davos?

US president is travelling to join other world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

By AFP & Reuters
January 21, 2026
A view of the plane which will now carry President Trump to Switzerland after Air Force One returned to Joint Base Andrews on January 20, 2026. — AFP
A view of the plane which will now carry President Trump to Switzerland after Air Force One returned to Joint Base Andrews on January 20, 2026. — AFP

US President Donald Trump landed safely on Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews near Washington to change aircraft on Tuesday night after the crew on his initial flight identified what the White House called a "minor electrical issue" shortly after takeoff.

After the Boeing BA.N 747 landed, the trip continued on a smaller Boeing 757 that departed just after midnight local time (0500 GMT) on Wednesday, more than two hours after the initial flight took off.

Trump is travelling to join other world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Air safety incidents involving the US president or vice president are rare, but not unprecedented.

Trump has long been unhappy with the current Air Force One jets — two highly customised Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that entered service in 1990 under President George HW Bush.

Last year, Trump said his administration was "looking at alternatives" to Boeing following delays in the delivery of two new 747-8 aircraft.

In May, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth accepted a Boeing 747 that the Gulf emirate of Qatar offered to Trump for use as Air Force One.

Air Force One aborted a landing due to bad weather while carrying President Barack Obama to an event in Connecticut in 2011. In 2012, the Air Force Two plane carrying then-Vice President Joe Biden was struck by birds in California, before it landed without a problem.

The jet — worth hundreds of millions of dollars — has raised huge constitutional and ethical questions, as well as security concerns about using an aircraft donated by a foreign power for use as the ultra-sensitive presidential plane.