Note: This information is based extensively on reporting from The Washington Post, which broke the story, and The New York Times.
President Donald Trump secretly flew out of Turkey on July 8 using a carefully staged deception that hid him in an airline catering container and moved him from Air Force One to another U.S. military aircraft, according to news reports.
The deception was used to thwart an Iranian assassination plot after a NATO summit in Turkey, The Washington Post and The New York Times reported. It involved multiple U.S. planes at the Ankara Esenboğa Airport.
Trump boarded Air Force One, a Boeing 747-200B, and reportedly exited the aircraft by a different door on the opposite side of the plane, away from public view. He was taken to
a nearby jet, an Air Force C-32A, the military version of a Boeing 757.
Both planes soon departed Ankara and landed at RAF Mildenhall, an air base in England. Trump was reportedly secretly transferred back to Air Force One and exited the presidential jetliner, giving the impression he had been on the plane the entire flight.
Here's how it happened, according to reports, some of them anonymous, from the Post and the Times, which based their reporting on materials they reviewed and U.S. officials familiar with the president's travel.
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Three U.S. planes involved
Three planes were involved in Trump’s visit to the NATO summit in Turkey.
- Boeing 747-8i / 747-8KB BBJ, a luxury jet donated by Qatar. Trump flew to Turkey on this plane, designated VC-25B Bridge Aircraft.
- Boeing 747-200B, one of two older versions of Air Force One, with tail number 29000 and designation of VC-25A. This was flown at the same time to Turkey as a backup to the Qatari jet.
- C-32A, a military variant of a Boeing 757 passenger jet. Its arrival time in Turkey is not yet known.
Hostilities with Iran escalated after Trump arrived in Turkey. The president said that the Qatari jet would depart for the United Kingdom and that he would fly out on the older Air Force One.
Part of that decision came from concern about the security of the Qatari jet. The aircraft had not been equipped with the defensive capabilities of older presidential jets, the Times reported. In July, the White House disclosed that the jet would undergo security upgrades while the President flew on the older plane.
How Trump changed planes at the airport in Turkey
Trump arrived by limousine at the Ankara Esenboğa Airport in Ankara, Turkey. News media videos show Trump boarding an Air Force One 747-200B jet. He enters by the left-side front passenger door and waves goodbye.
Members of the White House press corps enter the plane from the rear door on the left. They are told to lower their window shades.
As the press corps boards the plane, a video shows a man in a suit entering a nearby catering truck, according to The Washington Post. Catering trucks, equipped with hydraulic scissor-lifts, typically deliver food and beverages to planes on the tarmac. The deliveries are carried in truck-sized metal boxes called catering containers.
Once aboard the 747, Trump walks to the other side of the aircraft. He enters a catering container that has been lifted to the galley service door on the right side of the aircraft, opposite the passenger door.
The catering truck lowers the container to its bed, with Trump inside.
The truck then takes the container to a nearby aircraft identified as a C-32A, the military version of a Boeing 757 passenger jet. The jet, one of four operated by the Air Force, is known as an executive transport and has been used by U.S. officials.
The container is raised to the C-32A, and Trump boards the aircraft by a galley service door.
A news video shows a man in a suit leaving the catering truck and climbing the stairs to the C-32A, according to the Post.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth boards the C-32A using an external staircase. His presence is "part of an attempt to make the flight appear typical," according to the Post.
Leaving Ankara, Turkey
The U.S. aircraft then depart the airport. They are bound for RAF Mildenhall in England, an air base. There's a two-hour time difference between the airport and the air base.
- 4:50 p.m. Ankara (2:50 p.m. Mildenhall): Qatari jet 747-8i departs.
- 8:45 p.m. Ankara (6:45 p.m. Mildenhall): The 747-200B departs.
- Estimated 8:50 p.m. Ankara (6:50 p.m. Mildenhall): C-32A departs; time unknown, but it leaves after the 747-200B.
Arrival in the U.K.
- 6:26 p.m. local time: The Qatari jet 747-8i arrives at RAF Mildenhall.
- 10:20 p.m.: C-32A arrives at RAF Mildenhall.
- 10:29 p.m.: The 747-200B arrives at RAF Mildenhall.
- 10:56 p.m. local time: Trump leaves the 747-200. It’s not known how Trump transferred to the 747-200 from the C-32A.
- 11:01 p.m.: Trump boards the Qatari jet 747-8i for the flight back to Washington.
Asked about Trump’s claimed move to ride aboard the baby-blue former Air Force One, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung noted threats against the president.
"As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal ‒ including distraction and misdirection ‒ to address those threats," Cheung said.
Contributing: Michael Loria, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Joey Garrison and Shawn J. Sullivan
Source: USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters; U.S. Air Force
This is developing story which may be updated.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump used catering truck, Air Force One decoy to slip out of Turkey
