Donald Trump's plans to run for president again are seemingly still up in the air, where his Boeing 757 will presumably be sometime in the near future.
Trump's jet — dubbed "Trump Force One" — spent hours running pattern flights above a small airport in Lake Charles, Louisiana, this week, likely testing updated components, according to an analysis of flight data by CNN. Following the tests, the plane headed to the Palm Beach International Airport, where it arrived Wednesday night.
The former president had said previously that the plane would undergo repairs in Louisiana.
The 31-year-old jumbo jet had been idle for the four years of Trump's presidency and several months afterward, and its arrival at the airport close to Mar-a-Lago, less than three weeks before the midterm elections, could indicate it may be getting ready to resume its past position as an oversized campaign component.
The plane made a series of short flight loops at varying altitudes twice in recent days, taking off and landing at Chennault International Airport in Louisiana, according to CNN. While some of the flights lasted less than 10 minutes and did not go above altitudes of 3,000 feet, others were longer, at 20 to 30 minutes, and reached altitudes of 9,000 to 23,000 feet, according to the flight data.
"It is common after a plane has had upgrades — or other new equipment or general avionic tweaks — for pilots to make a series of test flights to ensure safety and function," Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board, told CNN. "The series of passes at different altitudes, such as the ones completed in Louisiana, are indicative of standard checks."
A regular at Trump's campaign appearances and rallies during the run up to the 2016 election, the 757 was featured in a video Eric Trump posted to social media in July that showed the jet being painted at a hanger in Louisiana.
"SHE'S BACK!!" he wrote.
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