call sign
of any United States Air Force
aircraft carrying the President of the United States
. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft may carry the "Air Force One" call sign while the president is on board. Air Force One is a prominent symbol of the American presidency
and its power, with the aircraft being the most famous and most photographed in the world.
The idea of designating specific military aircraft to transport the President arose in 1943, when officials of the United States Army Air Forces – the predecessor to the U.S.
Never again will I allow our political self-interest to deter us from doing what we know to be morally right. Atrocity and terror are not political weapons, and to those who would use them, your day is over. We will never negotiate. We will no longer tolerate and we will no longer be afraid. It's your turn to be afraid.
How far away are those MIGs? [The radar suddenly shows Kazakh fighters right behind Air Force One] Never mind.
When you talk to the President, you might remind him that I am holding his wife, his daughter, his chief of staff, his national security advisor, his classified papers, AND his baseball glove!
Impenetrable. Invincible. In Trouble.
The fate of a nation rests on the courage of one man.
The most important man, the surest airplane, the most dangerous hijackers...