BANGOR, Maine — If you thought you saw Air Force One or Two in Bangor on Friday afternoon, you didn’t — but only because neither the president nor vice president were onboard.
A Boeing 757 with the familiar blue-and-white paint scheme and “United States of America” painted on the sides performed touch-and-go landings at Bangor International Airport around 3 p.m. Friday, according to Risteen Barr, the airport’s marketing manager.
“We happen to be the site for a lot of training, and it’s not unusual that this type of aircraft to come through here,” Barr said.
Barr said the plane was in Bangor as part of a training flight for a new pilot, who performed a few touch-and-gos before heading back toward their base.
The 757s usually transport the vice president and other U.S. dignitaries. A pair of Boeing 747s based out of Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland typically are used by the president and other high-level U.S. government officials.
BIA’s 11,440-foot runway, proximity to the Maine Air National Guard Base, and quiet air pattern make it a relatively frequent stop for the military jets, airport officials have said.
A plane only becomes Air Force One when the president steps inside, or Air Force Two if the vice president boards without the president. Otherwise, the plane goes by its regular tail number. The two 747s that usually serve as Air Force One are SAM 28000 and SAM 29000. The Air Force operates four 757s outfitted to transport dignitaries, such as the vice president, first lady and Cabinet and Congress members.
In a June visit, the Boeing 747 SAM 29000 touched down in Bangor and taxied around the airport.
“Barr said the plane may have been in Bangor as part of a training trip for a new pilot, who performed a few touch-and-gos before heading back toward Andrews Air Force Base in Virginia, which is home to a pair of Boeing 747 used by the president and other high-level U.S. government officials.”
Another example of “Let’s get this online as quickly as possible without doing real reporting or copy editing.”
Why not ask a more reliable source why the plane was practicing — the Air Force (gasp!)? Sure, the answer would probably be, “We don’t comment on any missions, practice or otherwise, involving the planes assigned to the president.”
But that sure beats relying solely on the airport to speculate.
As for the copy editing, “pair of Boeing 747s,” not pair of “Boeing 747.”
obama is coming to maine in a week, probably advance familiarization flight.
oops, read the other story. never mind.
Obama has cancelled his trip to Maine, due to the conn. shooting…
I didn’t know they came in pairs.
There’s a good National Geographic special available on YouTube about Air Force One. There are two planes, because you always need a backup.
When President Bush made a surprise Thanksgiving trip to visit troops in Iraq, he had to fly one of the planes to Washington. The plane went into the hangar, Bush and his small staff got off and promptly boarded the second plane, which had loaded fuel tanks, and immediately took off. The first plane refueled and followed.
Incidentally, neither planes’ call sign was Air Force One, even though Bush was on board, because it was a secret mission.
National Geographic reports in the program that it is a tradition for pilots to change when presidents change.
Frightening lack of knowledge at that poor airport….
THAT WAS A 757 NOT A 747 TODAY. SAW IT MAKE AN APPROACH AND PULL UP AND THEN CAME AROUND ABOUT TEN MINUTES LATER. DEFINIETLY A TWIN ENGINE JET AND NOT A 747. LOOKED IT UP AND ITS THE TYPE OF PLANE THE VICE PRESIDENT OR SECRETARY OF STATE ROUTINELY FLIES ON. THE AIRPORT MARKETING MANAGER IS MIS-INFORMED.
As a former Air Force pilot I can assure you that AF28000 would not be performing “touch and go’s” at BGR for training purposes. Any such training would be conducted at Andrews AFB. Additionally, the AF does not send 28000/29000 out on “training missions” to any other airports. Reason being if the POTUS needs to fly to any destination on short notice, both aircraft have to be available at Andrews.
And the two 747’s that the POTUS flies aboard, based at Andrews AFB belong to the 89th Military Airlift Wing, which comprises all Air Force aircraft tasked to fly government dignitaries, from the POTUS on down the chain.
I agree, we have a lot of planes do touch and go’s here at Pax River, a lot of them are Airforce….. They like to come and use the Navy’s runways because they are kept up… The Airforce likes to spend their money on base housing, geedunks and other stuff..LOL
It comes up here every two or three months. I always try to watch it because I’m paying for it and would like to get my money’s worth. Besides, it rarely flies dignitaries higher than congressional or state department VIPs. At Andrew’s the 757 in “Presidential” livery is known as the “Pork Palace Pram” becasue it flies a lot of Left leaning congressional VIPs around so they can lecture the peon public to do as they say, not as they do…..
To be 100% correct, SAM28000/29000 are Boeing VC-25, which are highly modified 747s. And “Air Force 2” is a Boeing C-32, a modified 757.
If you want to know if POTUS is on board all you have to do is check the TFR’s ( you can look that one up).
I live in Lincoln, Nebraska, and we see lots of these planes too. I chuckle every time someone says it is the President’s plane. Lincoln was also one of the alternative landing sites for the former space shuttles too.
Big News>>>>>>