‘Don’t Sit By The Door’: US Prez Biden Quips When Asked About His Air Force One Made By Mishap-Ridden Boeing

US President Joe Biden disembarks from Air Force One en route to Washington, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US. (Image: Reuters)

US President Joe Biden on Thursday joked that he does not side next to doors of the Air Force One which is manufactured by Boeing, as the aircraft maker tries to emerge from the series of recent mid-flight mishaps.

His quip came during a fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall. CBS “Late Show” host Steven Colbert asked him if transportation secretary Pete Buttegieg tightened the bolts on the Air Force One before he travelled to New York City.

“I don’t sit by the door… I’m only kidding. I shouldn’t joke about that,” Biden said at the fundraiser, joking about the aircraft maker’s latest troubles. Boeing also manufactures the Air Force One which is one of two highly customised Boeing 747-200B’s made by the company.

Boeing has been under fire since the January 5 mid-flight mishap where a door blew out from a Boeing 737 Max 9 passenger plane operated by Alaska Airlines. Following the incident, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the grounding of all Boeing 737 Max 9’s for weeks. The findings by the National Transportation Safety Board showed that bolts were missing from the Alaska Airlines jet’s rear door.

A week later a Boeing plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Japan due to a crack in the cockpit window. In January, a Boeing 757 operated by Delta Airlines and bound for Bogota, Colombia, lost its front tire while it was departing from Atlanta International Airport. A UK passengers also shared a video after noticing pieces of tape on the exterior of a Boeing 787 during his flight to India.

Earlier this month, a United Airlines Boeing 777-300 aircraft suffered a midair fuel leak and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Dave Calhoun, the embattled CEO, this week said he will leave the troubled aircraft maker at the end of the year. Calhoun – a veteran crisis manager – was hired in 2020 to steer the planemaker out of a reputation setback after crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed nearly 350 people and caused the grounding of its best-selling 737 MAX jet.

(with inputs from the New York Post and Reuters)