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Why Do Network People Misspeak "Air Force 1"?

landtuna

landtuna

Too many times to count, but just now on ABC World News, "Air Force 1" has been used to refer to the 747 that carried GHWB from Houston to WashDC?

The designation "Air Force 1" is ONLY used to refer to the aircraft when the current president is aboard. "Marine 1" is the correct name for the Presidential helicopter.

Media people should be much smarter than this.
 
landtuna said:
Too many times to count, but just now on ABC World News, "Air Force 1" has been used to refer to the 747 that carried GHWB from Houston to WashDC?

The designation "Air Force 1" is ONLY used to refer to the aircraft when the current president is aboard. "Marine 1" is the correct name for the Presidential helicopter.

Media people should be much smarter than this.
Click to expand...

Yes, you are correct. In addition there are two 747's that can take on this call sign if needed. My hunch is the spare was used for Bush. But a nice ceremony overall, and done the way it has always been done. I like that continuuem.
 
seatownmedia said:
Yes, you are correct. In addition there are two 747's that can take on this call sign if needed. My hunch is the spare was used for Bush. But a nice ceremony overall, and done the way it has always been done. I like that continuuem.
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I thought Air Force 1 referred to any winged aircraft that the President is flying in at any particular time, whether it's one of the official 747s or an old Wright Brothers biplane. That would include, for example, the Lockheed S3 Viking that GW Bush flew in during that infamous "Mission Accomplished" event aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003.
 
seatownmedia said:
Yes, you are correct. In addition there are two 747's that can take on this call sign if needed. My hunch is the spare was used for Bush. But a nice ceremony overall, and done the way it has always been done. I like that continuuem.
Click to expand...

I heard that President Trump sent his 747 from Argentina to fly President Bush to Washington
 
brian4 said:
I heard that President Trump sent his 747 from Argentina to fly President Bush to Washington
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Given that it's a 10 1/2 hour trip from Bs. As. to Houston, it would be more likely that the "spare" 747 was used.
 
Here's how it was reported by NBC:

"Former President George H.W. Bush was honored in a brief ceremony at the U.S. Capitol Monday afternoon shortly after his casket arrived in Washington aboard "Special Air Mission 41," a presidential aircraft temporarily renamed in honor of the 41st president."

Based on the story, it was likely the spare 747. There are two planes that are painted the same. But yes, Trump gave the order to dispatch the plane to Houston.
 
TheBigA said:
Here's how it was reported by NBC:

"Former President George H.W. Bush was honored in a brief ceremony at the U.S. Capitol Monday afternoon shortly after his casket arrived in Washington aboard "Special Air Mission 41," a presidential aircraft temporarily renamed in honor of the 41st president."

Based on the story, it was likely the spare 747. There are two planes that are painted the same. But yes, Trump gave the order to dispatch the plane to Houston.
Click to expand...

"Special Air Mission 1" is also how The Associated Press referred to the aircraft that carried Bush to Washington.
 
landtuna said:
Too many times to count, but just now on ABC World News, "Air Force 1" has been used to refer to the 747 that carried GHWB from Houston to WashDC?

The designation "Air Force 1" is ONLY used to refer to the aircraft when the current president is aboard. "Marine 1" is the correct name for the Presidential helicopter.

Media people should be much smarter than this.
Click to expand...

Perhaps because in common use, Air Force One is generally thought of as the plane most commonly used to transport the president. Yes, other planes could take on the call sign, but we're getting into nitpicky down-in-the-weeds stuff. When people see that particular plane (or one of them) with the seal and the paint job and such, they're going to call it Air Force One. Using the term conveys the meaning in a commonly understood way.
 
KeithE4 said:
I thought Air Force 1 referred to any winged aircraft that the President is flying in at any particular time, whether it's one of the official 747s or an old Wright Brothers biplane. That would include, for example, the Lockheed S3 Viking that GW Bush flew in during that infamous "Mission Accomplished" event aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003.
Click to expand...

You are correct. The general public, media included, doesn't understand this.

G
 
AbrahamJSimpson said:
They may well understand it. (Anyone see the film Air Force One?) It's just not that big an issue in the grand scheme of things.
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If one is a journalist, print, broadcast, or whatever, it is his/her JOB to get everything right, including arcane terminology. An explanation would also be necessary, given the confusion on how the term is used.
 
I agree, the term should have been known by media, and/or explained. There is no question about this, (though I wasn't clear in my earlier post)...

Air Force One is the call sign of any airplane the President is on.

Air Force One without the President aboard is not called Air Force One. This is why there was a "special" name given for the 747 that the late President has been flown in, and will happen again as he is returned to Texas to his library for burial.
 
KeithE4 said:
If one is a journalist, print, broadcast, or whatever, it is his/her JOB to get everything right, including arcane terminology. An explanation would also be necessary, given the confusion on how the term is used.
Click to expand...

AP style states that in ordinary usage, it is the name of the plane normally reserved for the president's use, so, um yeah, they're following industry standards. It is accepted and understood by the general public what is being referred to. There is zero need to waste airtime or column inches with a pedantic discussion in an effort to appease those who will likely find some other nit to pick.
 
KeithE4 said:
If one is a journalist, print, broadcast, or whatever, it is his/her JOB to get everything right, including arcane terminology. An explanation would also be necessary, given the confusion on how the term is used.
Click to expand...

I agree. My old journalism professor drilled accuracy into our heads before everything else.
 
delgriffith said:
Do it matter if a library, the Reagan Library, refers to the jet in their collection as Air Force One? https://www.reaganfoundation.org/library-museum/permanent-exhibitions/air-force-one/
Click to expand...

In that context the library is describing the actual aircraft Reagan flew upon so when he was aboard its call sign was "Air Force One". The actual aircraft is otherwise called by its tail number as are all other civilian aircraft.

If I had written that article for the library I would have called the aircraft what it actually was, a 747, and specified it was known as "Air Force One when carrying the president.
 
landtuna said:
In that context the library is describing the actual aircraft Reagan flew upon so when he was aboard its call sign was "Air Force One". The actual aircraft is otherwise called by its tail number as are all other civilian aircraft.

If I had written that article for the library I would have called the aircraft what it actually was, a 747, and specified it was known as "Air Force One when carrying the president.
Click to expand...

Yay for you. But your way is not the only correct way.
 
landtuna said:
It's not MY way. The Air Force, which pilots, operates and maintains the aircraft, determines how it will be addressed. "Air Force One" is a call sign, not an aircraft designation.
Click to expand...

The AP has it exactly right. In common use, people refer to the plane(s) as Air Force One. They don’t get into minutiae about call signs. Within the Air Force it has more meaning, but my Air Force officer uncle also called the plane Air Force One.

Everyone who isn’t being rediculously arcane knows what it means, as recognized by the style guide.
 
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