AMERICA'S LOST AIR FORCE ONE

in 1953 a near mid-air collision took place over New York City involving Eastern Airlines flight 861 0 and Air Force flight eight six one zero air traffic controllers later learned that Air Force eight six one zero was carrying president dwight d eisenhower as a result of this incident the callsign Air Force one was created the Air Force Lockheed Constellation carrying Eisenhower that day Columbine - serial number four eight six one zero thus became the first Air Force one Columbine - is the only primary presidential aircraft ever sold by the United States government the plane was sold in 1972 Mel Chrysler a Wyoming businessman who operated a large-scale crop-dusting enterprise at an Air Force auction Chrysler bid on a lot of five nondescript constellations not knowing that one of them was Columbine - he used them and was going to use all five of them for spraying this this airplane was the worst of the lot and so he left it behind to use it for parts the Smithsonian was doing some research into all the presidential aircraft and they contacted him and asked him if he knew that he owned this airplane or if he'd sold it and he said yes he still owned it and they informed him at that point that this was Eisenhower's Columbine - and he was about ready to cut it up then he decided not to and he for the next ten years he tried to find a way to restore it the aircraft has a long and storied history it carried not only the President of the United States but many other notable figures including Queen Elizabeth the second Richard Nixon and John Dulles Eisenhower's famous Atoms for Peace speech was written aboard Columbine - the Lockheed Constellation is one of the most iconic aircraft ever flown known for its graceful shape and impressive performance today Columbine 2 is a forgotten American relic decaying in the Sonoran Desert north of Tucson Arizona the plane won't last much longer this way and without attention it may be scrapped we believe that would be a terrible loss we hope you'll agree by telling others about this video by circulating it through social media and word-of-mouth so glimpse into our past and why we do things the way we do today you know not only is it Eisenhower's plane but it's the plane that started the Air Force One moniker and it's the only one that's not in a museum it belongs in a museum where people can see it and appreciate it we hope to produce a documentary about the restoration of this important piece of American history so we can make its way to a final resting place where it belongs you

Channel: First Air Force One

Views: 241,337

Rating: 4.8862371 out of 5

Keywords: first air force one, first air force one video, 1st air force one, 1st air force one video, first air force one youtube, eisenhower air force one, president eisenhower's air force one, air force one, air force one videos, the first air force one, tucson, AZ, Columbine 2, Columine II, Arizona, first air force one you tube, columbine II youtube, first air force 1, first air force one columbine 2

Id: dD8QiMlCk9U

Length: 5min 0sec (300 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 03 2014

Reddit Comments

[u/Xorondras]

I know, Conny parts are sparse these days, but why would you put it in a museum if you could make it fly again instead?