You’ve probably seen the headlines or the weird social media posts floating around. Maybe it was a grainy video of someone stumbling on the stairs of Air Force One, or a frantic "breaking news" alert about a mid-air disaster. It makes you wonder: was Biden in a plane crash? The short answer is no. Joe Biden has never been in a plane crash that resulted in a wreck or injuries. However, that doesn’t mean he hasn't had some incredibly close calls that sound like something straight out of a Hollywood thriller.
Politics aside, the man has logged millions of miles in the air. When you fly that much, things are bound to get a little sketchy eventually. From emergency landings in war zones to localized "mini-crises" on the tarmac, the real stories are actually more interesting than the internet rumors.
That Time in 2008: The "Forced Landing" in a Snowstorm
If you want to know why people keep asking if Joe Biden was in a plane crash, you have to look back at February 2008. At the time, Biden was a U.S. Senator traveling through Afghanistan with fellow Senators John Kerry and Chuck Hagel. This wasn't a standard commercial flight; they were in two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters.
While they were flying over a remote, mountainous region about 10 miles outside of Bagram Air Base, a massive snowstorm blew in. If you’ve ever seen a "whiteout," you know how terrifying it is. The pilots couldn't see a thing.
They didn't "crash," but they were forced to make an emergency landing on a snowy ridge at about 10,500 feet. Basically, they were stuck in the middle of nowhere in Taliban territory.
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The Rescue Mission
This is where the story gets intense. The senators weren't just sitting in a cozy cabin. They were stranded in a high-threat environment during a blizzard. A small American quick-reaction force, along with an Afghan interpreter named Aman Khalili, had to drive through the mountains in Humvees for hours to find them.
Biden has actually used this story on the campaign trail. He once told a crowd, "If you want to know where al-Qaeda lives... come back to the area where my helicopter was forced down." It’s a dramatic memory, and for a few hours back in 2008, his staff and the Pentagon were definitely holding their breath.
The Viral "Stumble" vs. An Actual Crash
In the last couple of years, the internet has been obsessed with Biden and airplanes, but usually for the wrong reasons. You’ve seen the clips. In 2021, he tripped while boarding Air Force One. In 2023, a video went viral of someone falling down the back stairs of the plane in Poland, and everyone swore it was him.
It wasn't.
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Fact-checkers later confirmed it was a member of the White House support staff. But in the world of TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), a person falling near a plane quickly turns into "The President was in a plane crash."
There was also a weird moment in July 2024 where social media blew up with claims of a "medical emergency" on Air Force One. People were convinced the plane was making an emergency landing because something had gone wrong. In reality, the plane landed exactly where it was supposed to in Delaware, and Biden walked off the plane just fine.
Why Do These Rumors Keep Coming Up?
Honestly, it’s a mix of a few things.
- High Visibility: Every single move a President makes is filmed. If the plane hits a bump, there are ten cameras catching the jolt.
- The 2025 D.C. Collision: Recently, there was a tragic mid-air collision near Reagan National Airport in January 2025 involving a commercial flight and a military helicopter. Biden wasn't on either, but because it happened in D.C. and involved military assets, his name got dragged into the news cycle surrounding the investigation.
- Legacy of Trauma: Many people forget that Biden’s life has been marked by a horrific car accident that killed his first wife and daughter. Because his biography is so tied to a tragic transport accident, people sometimes conflate that history with his later years in politics.
The Difference Between a "Scare" and a "Crash"
In aviation terms, there is a huge gap between an "incident" and an "accident." Biden has had plenty of incidents.
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For example, in June 2022, a small private plane mistakenly entered the restricted airspace near Biden’s vacation home in Rehoboth Beach. The Secret Service scrambled jets, and the President was briefly moved to a safe house. It was a security scare, but the "Biden plane" news alerts that day made it sound like a disaster was imminent.
What You Should Know Now
If you see a post tomorrow saying Biden was in a plane crash, check the source. Usually, these "crashes" are just:
- Weather diversions (totally normal).
- Mechanical "precautionary" landings (happens to Air Force One occasionally).
- Old footage from that 2008 helicopter incident in Afghanistan.
Biden’s flight history is actually incredibly safe, protected by the most sophisticated aviation security on the planet. While he's had his share of "white-knuckle" moments in the mountains of Afghanistan, he has never been in a crash.
Your next steps for staying informed:
Check the official NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) records if you ever hear about a major aviation incident involving government officials. They provide the final, factual word on what qualifies as a crash versus a diverted flight. Also, keep an eye on the White House Press Pool reports; these are journalists who actually travel on the plane with the President and provide real-time updates on any "bumps" in the air.