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Air Force One was forced to return to Joint Base Andrews shortly after takeoff Tuesday evening with President Donald Trump aboard because of what the White House described as a minor electrical issue.
The aircraft departed at 10:20 p.m. but turned back about 45 minutes into the flight and landed at Joint Base Andrews at 11:07 p.m., according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. She said the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution.”
“After takeoff, the AF1 crew identified a minor electrical issue,” the White House Rapid Response account posted on X. “Out of an abundance of caution, AF1 is returning to Joint Base Andrews. The President and team will board a different aircraft and continue on to Switzerland.”
Reporters traveling with the president said the lights in the press cabin briefly went out after takeoff. President Trump was on the way to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum.
After returning to Maryland, President Trump boarded a different aircraft shortly after midnight and continued on to Switzerland. He arrived safely in Zurich around 6:45 a.m. Eastern time, the White House said.
Leavitt joked with reporters aboard Air Force One that a Qatari jet sounded “much better” at the moment.
Trump is traveling with senior White House aides and Cabinet members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters in Davos that President Trump was expected to arrive about three hours late.
About four hours before Trump was scheduled to speak onstage, his replacement aircraft was already over the eastern Atlantic, according to flight tracking data. The Boeing C-32A was roughly 1,000 miles from Zurich Airport and traveling at a groundspeed of about 560 miles per hour, based on ADS-B Exchange data.