White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mr. Trump would switch to a different aircraft at the base and then proceed to Switzerland, where he is scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, News.Az reports, citing The New York Times.
It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Trump would reach Davos in time for his planned speech at 2:30 p.m. local time, or 8:30 a.m. Eastern, on Wednesday.
Following the address, he is expected to hold meetings with several world leaders, including some who have pushed back against his threat to annex Greenland and his proposal for a “Board of Peace” to supervise the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The plane turned around “out of an abundance of caution” after crew identified the issue shortly after takeoff, Ms. Leavitt said.
Some of the cabin lights in the aircraft were not working. It landed at 11:07 p.m. at Joint Base Andrews.
Air Force One is the designation given to any Air Force plane carrying the president, and there are two specially modified Boeing 747s in its fleet for that purpose. Both planes entered service more than 35 years ago and have had maintenance problems. Mr. Trump has frequently complained about them.
An aircraft’s electrical system is vital to its functioning, generating and suppling power to the essential components like navigation and communication systems, cockpit displays and cabin lights. His first administration renegotiated a contract with Boeing for two new 747-8 planes.
They are not expected to be finished before the end of his second term. In May, the Trump administration accepted a new 747-8 jetliner from the government of Qatar, which will require extensive work before it can be considered secure enough to be used as Air Force One.
It was unclear how long the Defense Department would need to build security measures into the new plane.
