Search for "Joe Biden plane crash" and you’ll find a mess. Truly. It’s a chaotic mix of old news clips, TikTok conspiracy theories, and legitimate questions about aviation safety that have nothing to do with a crash. Honestly, it’s frustrating. People want to know if a former or sitting president was in a disaster, and instead, they get a bunch of AI-generated clickbait or recycled footage of a stumble on the stairs.
Let's clear the air immediately: Joe Biden has never been in a plane crash. Not as a Senator, not as Vice President, and not as the 46th President of the United States. While there have been a handful of "incidents" involving his aircraft over the decades, none of them resulted in a crash or serious injury to him. In the world of high-stakes political travel, rumors fly faster than the planes themselves.
Why Do People Keep Searching for a Joe Biden Plane Crash?
It basically comes down to how the internet digests news. You’ve probably seen the videos. There is a very famous clip of Joe Biden tripping while walking up the stairs of Air Force One in March 2021. Then it happened again in Poland in 2023. These clips go viral every few months.
Social media algorithms are weird. They take a video of a "trip" and, through a series of shares and bad captions, it somehow morphs into a "near-death experience" or a "crash landing" in the minds of some users.
There’s also the confusion with real tragedies. In April 2024, Biden spoke about his uncle, Ambrose Finnegan, whose plane was downed over the Pacific during World War II. When the President mentions a "plane crash" in a speech, the headlines often lead with those keywords. If you’re just scanning Google Discover, it’s easy to misinterpret a story about a 1944 crash as something happening now.
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The 2010 Air Force Two Incident
If we want to talk about the closest "real" thing, we have to go back to August 2010. Biden was Vice President at the time. His plane, a modified Boeing 757 (Air Force Two), was taxiing at Francis S. Gabreski Airport on Long Island.
The "jet wash"—that’s the powerful blast of air from the engines—actually lifted a small, parked Piper Cub a few feet off the ground. The smaller plane’s wing was damaged. Biden’s plane took off and he wasn't even aware it happened until later. It was a "minor accident" in aviation terms, but certainly not a crash involving the VP.
The 2025 Potomac Mid-Air Collision Confusion
Adding fuel to the fire in recent months is a tragic event that took place on January 29, 2025. This was a real, horrific accident. A commercial American Eagle flight and a military Black Hawk helicopter collided over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.
Because it happened in the capital and involved a military aircraft (Priority Air Transport 25), many people immediately assumed it was a "government" or "presidential" flight.
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It wasn't.
Joe Biden was not on either aircraft. However, the political fallout was massive. The incident led to a series of debates about FAA hiring practices and aviation safety protocols. When you see news reports from early 2026 discussing "Biden's aviation safety record" or "the crash during the Biden era," they are almost certainly referring to the regulatory response to the Potomac collision, not an accident involving Biden himself.
High-Altitude Close Calls and Security Scares
Politics is a risky business, and aviation is no exception. While a Joe Biden plane crash is a myth, there have been genuine security scares that forced his planes to change course.
- The Restricted Airspace Breach (2022): A small private plane accidentally flew into the restricted airspace near Biden’s vacation home in Rehoboth Beach. The President was moved to a secure location. The plane didn't crash; the pilot just missed the radio calls.
- The "Cicada" Delay (2021): This one sounds like a joke, but it’s real. A press plane following Biden to Europe was grounded because cicadas literally clogged the engines.
- The Poland Trip (2023): Traveling into a war zone like Ukraine required a "ghost flight." Biden flew on a smaller C-32, shades down, with no lights, landing in Poland before taking a train to Kyiv. It was a high-risk flight, but it went off without a hitch.
Dissecting the Viral Misinformation
We live in an era where "fake news" isn't just a buzzword; it's a business model. On platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, accounts often post "Breaking News" about a Joe Biden plane crash to farm engagement.
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Usually, they use a thumbnail of a generic burning plane or a clip of Air Force One with a dramatic filter. Sometimes they use "deepfake" audio of a news anchor. If you see a report about a presidential crash, check the Associated Press or Reuters. If it's not there, it didn't happen. A crash involving the leader of the free world would be the only thing on every screen on Earth within seconds.
Aviation Safety: The Real Story
What we should be looking at is the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act. Biden signed this into law to address actual problems:
- Air Traffic Controller Shortages: The US is short about 3,000 controllers. That’s a real danger.
- Runway Close Calls: There was a spike in "near-misses" at major airports like JFK and Austin in 2023 and 2024.
- Cockpit Recording: The new law requires 25-hour cockpit voice recorders, up from the old 2-hour limit.
These are the technical, boring, but vital details of aviation safety under the Biden administration. They aren't as "viral" as a fake crash, but they are what actually matter for people who fly.
How to Fact-Check Future Claims
Next time you see a headline about a Joe Biden plane crash, do these three things:
- Check the Date: Is this a story about his uncle from 1944?
- Look for Flight Tracking: Sites like FlightAware or ADS-B Exchange track Air Force One (often under the callsign SAM28000 or SAM29000). If the plane is in the air and moving, it hasn't crashed.
- Identify the Source: Is the news coming from a reputable outlet or an account with "Patriot" or "Resistance" in the handle that just wants your clicks?
The reality is that Air Force One is arguably the safest vehicle ever built. It’s a flying fortress with its own flares, jamming systems, and redundant everything. While the man inside might stumble on the stairs, the plane itself is designed to survive almost anything.
Actionable Insight for Readers: To stay informed without the clutter, set up a Google Alert for "NTSB Presidential reports" or follow the official FAA newsroom. This cuts through the social media noise and gives you the raw data on aviation incidents before they get twisted by the internet's game of telephone.