How fast is Air Force One?

Doug Mills/AFP/Getty Images. An F-16 fighter flies just off the wing of Air Force One on a flight back to Washington, Sept. 11, 2001. more +. read more

Every Air Force One flight is considered as a military operation. The air Force crews inspect the plane, and the runway, before every flight. When it’s time to head off, the Marine One helicopter brings the president from the White House to Andrews Air Force Base. read more

Air Force One has the ability to fly at a speed of over 600 miles per hour (or 92 percent of the speed of sound) -- so fast that F-16 fighter planes escorting the president’s plane while in flight on September 11 had difficulty keeping up and had to ask the plane’s pilot to slow down. read more

Air Force One is shown as being equipped with a one-person escape pod and parachutes for emergency use by the President of the United States in at least five films: Escape from New York, Air Force One, White House Down, Bermuda Tentacles, and Big Game. read more