Air Force One Spotted Over Europe, Leading Many to Question What was Going on
UPDATE 2:23PM ET on December 26, 2018: The White House has just announced that President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have traveled to Iraq to visit U.S. troops and senior military leadership.
Early this morning and into the afternoon, an airplane appearing to be Air Force One was spotted over Yorkshire England, despite the fact that President Trump has no trips on his schedule for December 26. The sighting has led many within the media and those on social media to question what the heck is going on.
Flight RCH358, which appears to be Air Force One, left Joint Base Andrews around Midnight Eastern time, and was spotted over Hungary at around 9:30 AM ET. It was then reported by WikiLeaks, via Twitter, that the airfract appears to be moving toward Turkey.
The Boeing 747 usually used by Trump for Air Force One is currently moving towards Turkey. pic.twitter.com/TG5Ndzoyvn
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) December 26, 2018
Given that there were no planned departures for the President, this has led many to speculate as to where the plane is going, and who could possibly be aboard the flight.
Sources telling me Trump’s on his way to visit troops—possibly in Iraq. Better late than never. But also a bit troubling that so many folks seem to already know about this if it hasn’t happened already. #OpSec anyone?
— Paul (PJ) Rieckhoff (@PaulRieckhoff) December 26, 2018
As of right now, the White House has not made any official announcements, but various journalists and others on social media have put forth several different theories.
These theories range from Trump visiting troops in Afghanistan after he has been roasted by the media for not doing so over the holidays, to speculation that he is meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Reported over the UK earlier today. Callsign & unknown hex confirmed on my own receiver logs. 👇
'RCH358' VC-25 USAF – over Yorkshire – taken from Chapeltown South Yorks Boxing Day 2018https://t.co/9sYjOnIcIG @ETEJSpotter 👍 pic.twitter.com/wWpp4FPpz8
— CivMilAir ✈🎅🎄🐈 (@CivMilAir) December 26, 2018
According to WikiLeaks, the transponder for the flight was either changed or disabled after it neared Romanian air space. This could be because the media has picked up on the flight track.
It is also worth noting that Trump has not tweeted for over 17 hours.
UPDATE 2:23PM ET on December 26, 2018: The White House has just announced that President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have traveled to Iraq to visit U.S. troops and senior military leadership.