After the presidential debate against Joe Biden on June 27, a photo connected to Donald Trump went viral online. But the photo wasn’t of the former president. It was a photo of his plane.
The photo shows “Trump Force One” – named while Trump was in office and a play on words referencing Air Force One – parked next to what appears to be a Russian plane. Another photo that also went viral online shows a United Arab Emirates military plane also parked next to the Trump and Russian plane.
Readers Jennifer, Marjie and Tom asked if Trump’s plane really sat next to a Russian plane.
THE QUESTION
Is the photo of Trump’s plane parked next to a Russian plane real?
THE SOURCES
- Andrew Leyden, a D.C. freelance journalist who took the photos
- FlightRadar and RadarBox, flight tracking applications
- A map of Dulles airport from FlyDulles.com, the website for Washington Dulles International Airport
- Google Maps
- Planespotters.net
THE ANSWER
Yes, the photo of Trump’s plane parked next to a Russian plane is real.
WHAT WE FOUND
The viral photo of the planes parked next to each other is real, according to VERIFY’s analysis and flight data.
Former President Donald Trump’s “Trump Force One” plane was parked at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) at various times from June 28 to June 30. During that time, his plane was parked next to a Russian embassy plane and a United Arab Emirates plane, VERIFY confirmed. Trump’s plane overlapped with the Russian plane at IAD for a total of about 14 hours, and all three planes overlapped for a total of about 7.5 hours.
What we can’t confirm is if the passengers of each respective plane interacted with each other.
In the photo, Trump Force One can be clearly seen in its signature red, white and blue color scheme with the large “TRUMP” logo towards the cockpit and the American flag at the rear.
The plane next to it has Россия written on the side, which translated into English is “Russia,” and the Russian flag on the back. The United Arab Emirates plane is a C-17A, a plane known to be used in the country’s air force. According to Planespotters.net, which tracks aircraft movement globally, there are only eight C-17As in the United Arab Emirate fleet and flight information confirms one was at Washington Dulles International Airport while the Russian and Trump Force One were present.
Andrew Leyden, a freelance journalist based in Washington, D.C., took the photos of the planes sitting next to each other at IAD.
He said he took the photos from a nearby parking garage, a location corroborated with Google Maps data.
Leyden said the planes were parked in a secure area known as Apron W at IAD. The location is marked on this airport diagram. “Apron” is the official word for “tarmac” or the area where planes park.
“I just thought it was a rather unique photo of two planes you rarely see,” Leyden said, speaking about Trump’s plane sitting next to the Russian plane.
“From a planespotters perspective this was just an interesting photo opportunity,” Leyden told VERIFY. A planespotter is someone whose hobby is aircraft spotting.
Leyden also posted a YouTube video on June 28 with footage from the airport. At roughly 4:40 into the video, Trump’s plane and the Russian plane can be seen next to each other.
To further confirm the planes were sitting next to one another at the airport, VERIFY used FlightRadar, RadarBox and other flight tracking applications to confirm the planes were at IAD at the same time between June 27 and June 30. Here is a timeline of the planes’ comings-and-goings based on available data:
- June 27 at 9:55 a.m.: Russian plane with registration RA-96018 arrived at IAD
- June 28 at 12:39 a.m.: Trump arrives IAD from Atlanta presumably after the presidential debate
- June 28 at 1:58 p.m.: Trump departs IAD to Norfolk International Airport for a Chesapeake, Va., rally
- June 28 at 6:38 p.m.: Trump departs Norfolk to return to IAD
- June 28 at 7:13 p.m.: Trump arrives at IAD
- June 28 at 7:43 p.m.: United Arab Emirate plane with registration UAF1229 arrives at IAD
- June 29 at 3:17 p.m.: Russian plane RA-96018 departs IAD
- June 30: United Arab Emirates plane UAF1229 departs IAD, lands in Scotland at 10:18 p.m. local time. It takes a commercial jet about seven hours to fly from IAD to Edinburgh, so we can assume the United Arab Emirates plane left at some point before 10 a.m. on June 30.
- June 30 at 6:19 p.m.: Trump departs IAD for Palm Beach International in Florida.
This is not the first time the Russian plane was spotted at the Washington Dulles airport. On Dec. 22, 2023, Leyden posted this photo.
Leyden told VERIFY the plane routinely stops at the airport.
VERIFY reached out to the Trump campaign, Washington Dulles International Airport, the Secret Service and the State Department and did not receive comment at the time of publication.
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