Due to a minor technical malfunction, U.S. President Donald Trump's plane was forced to return to a military base shortly after takeoff on its way to Switzerland, the White House reported, LETA writes, citing AFP.
According to White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, the presidential plane Air Force One returned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland shortly after 11:00 PM on Tuesday (after 6:00 AM Latvian time on Wednesday) as a precaution due to a problem with the power supply.
Journalists accompanying Trump reported that shortly after takeoff, the electricity in the plane went out for a brief period.
Trump and his team will travel to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on another plane.
Trump has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the current Air Force One planes — two modified Boeing 747-200B airliners that have been in use since 1990, when George H.W. Bush was president.
Last year, Trump stated that his administration was considering alternatives to Boeing after delays in the delivery of two new planes.
Despite criticism, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth accepted a Boeing 747 plane as a gift from Qatar in May, which will be used as a presidential aircraft after refurbishment. The gift, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, raised numerous constitutional and ethical questions, as well as concerns regarding the use of a plane gifted by a foreign state for presidential needs.
