Melania Trump’s Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Maryland: Reports

A plane carrying First Lady Melania Trump was forced to make an emergency landing due to a mechanical issue, according to reports on Oct. 17.

The flight departed from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to Philadelphia and was forced to turn around, CNN reported.

Reporters could see smoke and could smell of something burning about 10 minutes after the plane took off. The plane made a safe landing.

Reporters were given towels if the smoke got too strong, the report said.

Stephanie Grisham, Trump’s communications director, told the network that it was a “minor mechanical issue. Everything is fine and everyone is safe.”

U.S. first lady Melania Trump feeds a baby elephant a bottle of milk at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya, on Oct. 5, 2018. Carlo Allegri/Reuters

The first lady was heading to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, and she was slated to make comments on neonatal abstinence syndrome before heading back to Washington in the afternoon. NBC News reported that she was expected to meet families who are impacted by the opioid crisis.

Other details about the plane landing are not clear.

‘Most Bullied Person’

In an interview with ABC News this month, Melania Trump said that she could be “the most bullied person in the world.”

“One of them [most bullied people] ... if you really see what people are saying about me,” she said to the ABC reporter.

She also said that there are people in the Trump administration who are trying to undermine the president.

“It’s harder to govern,” the first lady said. “You always need to watch your back.”