OK, the movie “Air Force One” was a great flick, but it’s been pretty well established that the “escape pod” depicted therein is fictional. Not that it wouldn’t be a bad idea…
But, thinking about that led me to wonder…are there parachutes aboard Air Force One that could be used in an emergency? And, if so, do Secret Service agents who accompany POTUS on AF1 get any parachute training?
Scenario: AF1 develops massive problems in flight and is going down. The pilots are helpless to stop the impending disaster – within minutes, everyone aboard will be scattered in little pieces over the countryside upon impact. If everyone is doomed to begin with, wouldn’t it make sense to strap chutes on the Prez and a couple of agents and at least attempt a jump? Sure, conditions may not be ideal, or may even be prohibitive for a jump (velocity too high, plane spinning, etc.) But there might be some limited situations in which it could be attempted as a last-ditch effort.
I would think in any such situation, the odds of survival might be pretty low. So I wonder if the Powers That Be have even considered such a thing, or whether they would just rest on the notion that there is a VP, we have a constitutional succession, and the Republic will survive anyway.