President Donald Trump arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on the afternoon of 9/9 to travel to Dallas, Texas, for a Republican Party event. However, an emergency exit slide on Air Force One deployed, forcing him to remain in his helicopter for about 20 minutes while crew members addressed the incident.

"They are checking the emergency slide, I think it will take about 15 minutes," president Trump told reporters as he exited the helicopter, assuring that Air Force One remained safe for takeoff. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have boarded the plane."

Images from the scene showed the incident involved a VC-25B presidential aircraft, a modified Boeing 747-8i nicknamed the "flying palace", which Qatar gifted to the US last year. The older VC-25A aircraft also moved to a parking area behind the VC-25B, ready as a backup.

An informed source stated that "a servicemember activated the device", though it was unclear if this was intentional or accidental.

In a ground emergency, inflatable slides can deploy from aircraft doors, allowing passengers to evacuate quickly. When designing slides, experts must carefully consider the packing process into the aircraft body, similar to parachute packing.

Pre-flight checks do not include deploying emergency slides, as removing and reinstalling the equipment is time-consuming.

Air Force One's emergency slide deployed at Andrews Base, Maryland on 9/9. Photo: AP

Air Force One later departed and landed safely in Dallas, where the Republican Party was holding a conference to campaign for the midterm elections in November. President Trump was scheduled to deliver a key speech at the event on the evening of 10/9.

"As the president stated, they inspected the slide to ensure everything worked perfectly," White House spokesperson Steven Cheung responded when asked for comment on the incident, adding that Trump "would deliver a highly anticipated speech to a packed room of enthusiastic attendees."

Nhu Tam (According to AP, AFP)