Plane carrying Trump made emergency landing in New Orleans

Former President Donald Trump’s plane experienced engine failure and had to make an emergency landing Saturday in New Orleans, where he had just delivered a speech at a Republican National Committee-hosted event, according to reports.​​

The plane​ ran into trouble over the Gulf of Mexico after leaving New Orleans en route to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla. and the pilot decided to turn around, Politico and the Washington Post reported Wednesday. 

​Audio between the pilot and air traffic control indicated that the landing was described as “emergency in nature,” Politico reported, citing a source who had been briefed on the recording. ​

As the jet prepared to touch down in New Orleans, an air traffic controller told the pilot, “There will be vehicles following you down the runway,” the Washington Post reported. 

“I appreciate it,” the pilot responded.​

Once Trump’s plane landed in New Orleans, the Republican National Committee reached out to a donor and found the former president another aircraft.​​

Trump’s plane had flown about 75 miles after taking off from New Orleans Lakefront Airport and reached an altitude of about 28,000 feet when it turned around, the Washington Post reported.

A Trump spokesman declined to comment to both outlets, though a Wednesday evening fundraising email to the former president’s supporters teased the building of a new “Trump Force One.”

“The construction of this plane has been under wraps – not even the fake news media knows about it,” the email read, “and I can’t wait to unveil it for everyone to see.”