DC citizens said they were frightened by the incident.
A bizarre stunt in which a US military plane made an alarming flyover of Washington DC for Donald Trump’s Halloween party has backfired spectacularly.
The giant Boeing 747 offered to the president by Qatar, which becomes Air Force One when a president is on board, flew over Washington Thursday evening, approaching the buildings and monuments of the capital.
The Washington Council, the district’s 13-member legislature, posted video of the operation on social media, saying residents in downtown Washington, the Pentagon and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport had only 15 minutes’ advance notice of the flyover.
DC Council releases footage of military plane flying over Washington.
They said the low-flying plane surprised many Washington residents, including its own officials.
As it flew over Washington, D.C., the plane’s altitude was between about 400 feet and about 1,000 feet, according to flight tracking data cited by the Washington Post.
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The plane flew over the White House twice, according to this data.
Commenters on the Post article said the low flyover left people worried about a 9/11-style attack on the capital.
Trump has shown a deep affection for flyovers, with helicopters and other aircraft flying over Washington DC in June as part of a military parade for the country’s 250th anniversary. A plane used as Air Force One also participated in a flyover as part of a Fourth of July celebration during Trump’s first term in 2019.
Photo illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty
Thursday’s Halloween protest came as Trump shut down campaign rallies ahead of next week’s midterm elections. The president is instead holding virtual campaign events after his in-person rallies were repeatedly disrupted by protesters and hecklers.
The White House’s Rapid Response 47 »
A video posted by the Rapid Response account showed Donald and Melania Trump outside the White House waving at the plane, while a cheesy version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” played.
Not everyone was so thrilled with this stunt. “A large jet just flew over downtown Washington DC (Mass Ave, 15th St NW) at an extremely low altitude (maybe 250 feet),” wrote one X user. “What’s going on?”
After learning it was a flyover, the person said it was “a scare.” They added: “It was unexpected, and the altitude and direction made it look like the plane was going into buildings. Glad it was just a flyby!”
Another shared their own photos of the plane flying near buildings, saying: “That was Trump, Trumping.”
President Donald Trump shows off the presidential plane as it flies overhead during a Halloween event at the White House.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his wife Jennifer Rauchet, and Katie Miller at the event – a White House report noted both families were “on the front lines” when President Trump and first lady Melania began handing out candy.
Another wrote on
One user posted a video of the plane, a military version of the Boeing 747, looking like it was going to hit a building with the caption “This is crazy.”
The presidential plane flies overhead as U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump host a Halloween event at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., October 29, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas REFILE – CORRECTING INFORMATION FROM “AIR FORCE ONE” TO “PRESIDENTIAL PLANES.”
Another X user wrote that she had “a mini heart attack with everyone on the street.”
A Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson told the Post that the flyover was coordinated with the agency and there was a brief ground stop at National to accommodate it.
The Post pointed out that Washington’s airspace is more restricted than that of any other part of the United States, making the sight of a low-flying plane alarming for some residents.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the FCC for comment.
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