https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...mps-plane-forced-turn-SMOKE-filled-cabin.html
Melania Trump forced to change aircraft after SMOKE filled the cabin and reporters used wet towels to cover their faces – as president jokes: 'I hope this plane's better than the first one'
- First lady's spokeswoman says a 'minor mechanical issue' was to blame
- Plane turned around 10 minutes into a short flight to Philadelphia
- Aircraft typically used as 'Air Force Two' landed back at Joint Base Andrews
- After she boarded a waiting backup aircraft, the president joked: 'I hope this plane's better than the first one'
- Secret Service agents leapt to their feet and ran toward the cockpit
- Reporters on the plane said they were given wet towels to cover their faces so they could breathe
By
David Martosko, U.S. Political Editor and
Emily Goodin For Dailymail.com
Published: 14:22 BST, 17 October 2018 | Updated: 13:49 BST, 18 October 2018
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A government plane carrying
Melania Trump was forced to turn around Wednesday and return to an air base in Maryland after smoke filled the cabin.
Secret Service agents leapt from their seats 10 minutes into a morning flight and ran to the front of the aircraft.
'They're fine. I just spoke to her,' President Donald Trump said a few hours later on the Fox Business Network. 'They came back, she got on another plane.'
'I said, "I hope this plane's better than the first one",' he quipped. 'But yeah, they had a problem. Yeah, but she's fine.'
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The first lady's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said shortly after the brief crisis was declared ovet that a 'minor mechanical issue' was to blame. No smoke was visible from the outside of the plane after it touched down.
Melania didn't mention her travel problems during her brief remarks at a meeting on Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome convened by the Department of Health and Human Services in Philadelphia. But she drew chuckles with a grinned apology 'for a little delay.'
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Melania Trump's plane turned around after smoke filled the cabin on Wednesday; she's pictured at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia after arriving on a second aircraft
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President Donald Trump said the first lady was unharmed and joked that he hoped the replacement airplane was 'better than the first one'
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The first lady's plane landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and she was quickly hustled off and into a waiting SUV
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome strikes infants who experience withdrawal from their mothers' use of narcotics while pregnant.
'There are few things harder than seeing a newborn suffering,' the first lady said. 'I am anxious to do all I can to shine a light on this epidemic.'
She will tour a neonatal intensive care unit and meet with families affected by the syndrome before returning to Washington in the afternoon.
They're fine. I just spoke to her. They came back, she got on another plane. I said, 'I hope this plane's better than the first one.' But yeah they had a problem. Yeah, but she's fine.
— President Donald Trump
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar was also on the faulty flight. Journalists on board said no one was hurt.
The first lady calmly walked off the plane and got into a waiting SUV. A pool reporter said a second plane was made ready for takeoff within 50 minutes, and the first lady was on her way again.
She landed safely less than an hour later.
A press pool reporter on board the first plane said journalists 'could see a thin haze of smoke and smell something burning. The smell quickly became stronger.'
A crew member told the reporter that a 'malfunctioning comms unit' was to blame. The White House has not confirmed any details.
Melania's flight returned to Joint Base Andrews and landed safely at 9:05 a.m.
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The first lady addressed a hospital conference on neonatal abstinence syndrome, a condition that strikes infants who have withdrawal from their mothers' use of narcotics while pregnant
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The first lady calmly walked off the plane wearing a navy-checked belted coat, sunglasses and her signature stilettos, and carrying her handbag
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The Air Force Two plane, the same one that turned around Wednesday in mid-flight, is pitured near Buenos Aires, Argentina in August 2017 after Vice President Mike Pence's arrival