Air Force Two carrying VP Pence forced to land at New Hampshire airport after BIRD COLLISION – report

22 Sep, 2020 23:55 / Updated 4 years ago

An aircraft carrying Vice President Mike Pence, known as Air Force Two, was forced to turn back and land after it reportedly collided with a bird over New Hampshire shortly after take-off.

The plane struck a bird soon after taking off from New Hampshire’s Manchester Airport on Tuesday following a Trump campaign event, a White House official told NPR’s Tamara Keith, adding that “out of abundance of caution, Air Force Two returned safely back to Manchester.”

An aide to the vice president said Pence and his staff would travel back to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on a separate plane typically used for White House cargo, according to pool reporter Daniella Diaz. There were no reports of injuries or  damage to the plane in the collision.

Pence spoke at a campaign rally for US President Donald Trump in Gilford, New Hampshire before the brief mid-air scare, where he addressed the president's upcoming nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and urged the crowd to give the Trump administration four more years in office, among other subjects.

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