A U.S. military aircraft that’s known as Air Force One when the president is on board flew over Washington on Thursday evening to celebrate Halloween, the White House said. The unexpected display startled some D.C. residents.
A video posted by the White House’s Rapid Response 47 account shows President Donald Trump waving from outside the White House as the plane flew over the building.
“An epic Air Force One flyover at the White House for the trick-or-treaters!” the post said.
The aircraft is typically only called Air Force One when the president is on board. The plane flew over the White House twice, according to flight tracking data.
At 5:24 p.m., an AlertDC notification informed people that the U.S. military would conduct a flyover over the National Mall.
In a post on X, the D.C. Council noted the flyover’s short notice. “This flyover provided just fifteen minutes notice to anyone in downtown DC, at the Pentagon, or at National Airport. It startled many, including us,” read the post.
While flying over D.C., the aircraft’s altitude was between about 400 feet and about 1,000 feet, according to flight tracking data.
The sight of a plane flying low over Washington is rare considering its airspace is more restricted than anywhere else in the United States. And in a city that still vividly remembers the deadly 2025 crash near Reagan National Airport and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the flyover caused some concern.
“I’m probably being that person, but that flyover in DC right now was very scary. Essentially no heads up that it would be happening and it sounded like a regular commercial plane,” one person wrote on X. “I don’t mind jets but I actually thought a plane was going to crash.”
Another social media user wrote that she had “a mini heart attack along with everyone else on the street.”
A Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson said the flyover was coordinated with the agency and there was a brief ground stop at National to accommodate it.
Pilots and air traffic controllers at National lamented the delays caused by the flyover. “How many more fly-bys is he doing?” one pilot asked around 5:49 p.m., according to air traffic control recordings on ATC.com. “Hopefully that’s the last,” an air traffic controller replied.
One social media user wrote on X that they thought the aircraft was flying “crazy low for a 747.”
“I’m used to flyovers in DC,” they added. “But this one scared me.”
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