Qatari-gifted Air Force One delayed after evacuation slide deployed

The Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar to serve as Donald Trump's presidential jet was delayed on the tarmac Wednesday when an emergency inflatable slide was accidentally deployed before takeoff, an official said.

Trump, who was preparing to travel to Dallas, Texas from Joint Base Andrews, was not aboard when the incident occurred, and he had said inspectors were checking one of the plane's inflatable slides used for emergency evacuations.

"They're checking the slide over here, and I think it's going to take 15 minutes," Trump told reporters on the tarmac.

Later a person briefed on the situation told AFP that members of the US Air Force, which operates the presidential jet known as Air Force One, "accidentally triggered the slide."

The plane's safety has been the subject of recurring questions, and the issue came to a head during a recent dramatic incident in Turkey, where Trump secretly switched to a different aircraft amid security concerns.

Asked by an AFP reporter Wednesday whether Trump was sure the jet was safe, the 80-year-old president responded: "Yeah I am, or I wouldn't be on it."

Upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, Trump remained on his helicopter for an unusually long time before finally boarding Air Force One, the name given to an airplane carrying the US head of state.

This gave reporters time to observe an inflatable slide deployed on the right side of the jet, as well as the former presidential plane being repositioned from its hangar onto the tarmac, with its boarding bridges extended.

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The current Air Force One eventually took off and landed in Texas, where Trump is to speak at a Republican convention in a bid to rally his party ahead of November's midterm elections.

The Qatari plane, repainted in colors chosen by Trump, was last in the spotlight in July, when Trump decided at the last minute not to join press and top administration members on the jet leaving the NATO summit in Turkey.

The 80-year-old pretended to board the old Air Force One as planned, only to secretly deplane from a different door, into a catering truck that took him to a different plane, in response to apparent security threats.

Trump recently announced that work to enhance security measures on the new jet would begin in October and take longer than expected.

The Qatari royal family donated the luxurious jet last year after Trump complained about the condition of the two older Air Force One aircraft, which feature a distinctive white, silver and robin's egg blue color scheme and have been in service since 1990.

The donated plane, valued at several hundred million dollars, has raised major ethical and constitutional questions regarding gifts a US president may receive from foreign governments.

The jet has already been refitted by the military, and is to be used until Boeing delivers two new aircraft in the coming years.

Trump has indicated that he intends to keep the Qatari plane for his future presidential museum.