Mechanical Issue Forces Obama to Change Planes in Philly

President Barack Obama waves from Air Force One, before departure at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014. Obama is traveling to Bridgeport, Conn., and later to Philadelphia, Pa., for a campaign events for gubernatorial democratic candidates in both states. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Barack Obama flew to Philly on Air Force One. He left Philly on Air Force One. But he took two planes. How does that work?

Easy — any plane the president rides in is called “Air Force One,” not just the 747 he usually rides around the country in. That plane had mechanical problems, the Washington Post reports:

Obama traveled on the plane from Washington, D.C., to New Haven, Conn., then to Philadelphia, but it was replaced during his rally at Temple University with another C-32 aircraft, a modified version of the Boeing 757-200 planes the Air Force uses for the president’s travel.

“While in Philadelphia, we have transferred to a backup airplane due to a minor mechanical problem with one of the aircraft’s flaps,” White House principal deputy press secretary Eric Schultz said. “This switch to a backup C-32 will not affect our schedule.”

Obama, of course, was in town to stump for Tom Wolf at Temple University.