Barack Obama’s Rental: AA MD-80

When aviation geeks talk politics, they talk about planes. So when President-elect Barack Obama showed up in Washington aboard a chartered American Airlines MD-80, inquiring minds wanted to know the following:

When did he turn in the 757 that was his campaign plane? Why American Airlines? And what the heck was the president-elect doing seated in COACH?

Some other photos show Obama standing in the first-class section, and the Chicago Tribune reports that he sat up there. So most likely this photo was taken when he came back to talk to reporters.

(I’ve always said that the first-class section of an MD-80  is like the presidential suite at a Motel 6. It’s hard to see the point. But I’m just being snotty because I love the big metal.)

In any event, Obama’s in line for a major upgrade come January. The two 747s that usually serve as Air Force One are reputed to provide a very sweet ride.

Multiple Bird Strikes Causes Rough Landing

A Ryanair 737 sucked a bunch of birds into both engines on approach to Rome’s Ciampino airport today, causing an emergency landing that damaged the plane.

According to various reports, the engines were smoking and/or flaming as the aircraft landed hard, veered off the runway and back on. A landing gear broke, leaving the left engine sitting on the tarmac and the passengers had to evacuate on an inflatable chute.

Ten people were injured, none seriously. The airport, Rome’s second largest, was closed for the rest of the day.

Other than that, though, a great flight.