A U.S. military plane flew unusually close to Air Force One Sunday, before the plane that was carrying President Donald Trump landed Sunday at Joint Base Andrews.
“I would say beyond all doubt that this is a strange occurrence,” a retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel said, according to Voice of America News.
The plane approached Air Force One at a lower altitude from the north, then it veered off Air Force One’s right side. Some passengers on Air Force One, including a technician who has been flying on the plane since Jimmy Carter was president, said they had never seen an encounter with another plane so close to Air Force One.
According to Voice of America, the plane was spotted at 6:23 p.m. as Air Force One was descending into Maryland. Air Force One did not take evasive measures, and the flight landed with no incidents six minutes after spotting the military plane, a C-17 Globemaster.
The White House did not comment on the incident.
Air traffic controllers usually give the presidential plane more space to fly than the typical amount, which is 300 meters vertically or 4.8 kilometers horizontally
Steve Bannon, the president’s chief strategist, adviser Stephen Miller, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Joe Hagin, the White House’s deputy chief of staff for operations, were also on board Air Force One with the president, Voice of America reported.
Another plane flew too close to Air Force One in February, according to UPI.
