NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TELEVISION GAINS EXCLUSIVE AND UNPRECEDENTED ACCESS TO THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS PLANE

Documentary Featuring Never-Before Seen Footage of Air Force One Premieres Wednesday, July 11 at 8 P.M. ET/PT Exclusively on PBS

Pilot: “The President’s on board, and we are Air Force One.” Control Tower: “Prepare for departure Air Force One.”

It is a symbol of democracy and power, yet its inner workings are a closely guarded military secret. It is one of the most famous planes on earth, but few Americans will ever go aboard.

Now, for the first time, a National Geographic Special takes viewers inside the “flying White House,” with exclusive access to the plane, its hangar and the people who make it fly. Led by Emmy award-winning producer/director/cinematographer Peter Schnall for Partisan Pictures, a National Geographic Television (NGT) camera crew documents the elaborate planning that goes into every mission. National Geographic was allowed to film behind-the-scenes as the White House Military Office prepared for a three-day presidential trip. NGT’s lens also captures rare and revealing moments with former President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush as the plane was in flight. Premiering Wednesday, July 11, at 8 p.m. ET/PT exclusively on PBS (check local listings), the National Geographic Special Air Force One invites viewers into this flying command center, a place where history is made seven miles up.

“Air Force One will take viewers on a thrilling ride from the cockpit to the on-board doctor’s office to the President’s air-born Oval Office,” says Michael Rosenfeld, Senior Executive Producer of National Geographic Specials and Event Programming. “The access we obtained was unparalleled, not only to the plane itself but to those who have served aboard for the past fifty years.”

The Special features original interviews with former presidents Carter, George H. Bush and Clinton, and with President George W. Bush. In addition, the program shares stories and anecdotes remembered by the pilots, engineers and stewards who serve the President of the United States aboard Air Force One.

“Air Force One has been part of American history for more than fifty years,” says Rosenfeld. “From Nixon’s trip to China to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, it figures prominently in many of our most significant moments as a nation. And Air Force One is still making history today.”

The image of the President stepping from an aircraft, raised arm waving to an expectant crowd, has become a common scene on the nightly news during the past fifty years, but it was not always the case. In 1943, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt embarked on a top-secret mission, a face-to-face meeting with Winston Churchill in Casablanca, becoming the first president ever to travel by plane while in office. That flight, aboard Pan Am’s legendary Dixie Clipper, changed history and helped to transform the American presidency into a global office. Since that time, Air Force One has done more than carry the most powerful man in the world—it has brought the ideals of democracy and the power of the United States of America to the far reaches of the globe.

Putting the “flying Oval Office” in historical perspective, the film traces the evolution of the President’s plane from propeller craft to ultra-modern jet. Today, the Air Force maintains two identical Boeing 747-200B aircrafts, extensively modified to meet the needs of the President. Each plane is a technological wonder, complete with sophisticated communications (including 87 phones, 20 of them encrypted) and security systems, among other amenities. Each is as long as a city block, taller than a five-story building, and home to a private Presidential suite. Viewers will get an inside look at the sleeping quarters, offices and the medical suite, which includes a pharmacy and operating table.

Beyond the inner workings of the plane, the Special explores the way Air Force One has evolved into a symbol and a potent political tool. “Whoever occupies the Oval Office is illuminated by that office,” comments Jack Valenti, who flew aboard Air Force One as an aide to President Johnson. “There are two places where that illumination shines the most: one is the White House itself, and the other is Air Force One.”

Air Force One is a Partisan Pictures Production for National Geographic Television. For more information on Air Force One, go to www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/specials/airforceone.

Building on its reputation for remarkable visuals and compelling stories, NGT augments its award-winning documentary production (winner of over 100 Emmys and more than 800 other industry awards) with new prime-time drama, large-format, and feature film programming, as well as international broadcast and video distribution. At present, NGT’s programming can be seen in the U.S. on CNBC and PBS as well as on home video and DVD, and internationally through video & DVD distribution and broadcast syndication in more than 100 different outlets in some 90 territories. The National Geographic Channel in the U.S., a business enterprise of National Geographic Television (NGT) and Fox Cable Networks Group, launched January 7, 2001. Abroad, those partners are joined by NBC, and the Channel reaches 113 countries and over 90 million households in 18 languages. More information about NGT is available at www.nationalgeographic.com.

PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation’s 348 public television stations. Serving nearly 100 million people each week, PBS enriches the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services on noncommercial television, the internet and other media. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org.

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July 2001