Obama's Plane, The Official Word

Midwest Airlines Statement, July 7, 2008

One of our MD-80 charter aircraft was flying U.S. Senator Barack Obama and his presidential campaign staff and members of the news media from Midway Airport in Chicago to Charlotte, North Carolina this morning.

An emergency slide located in the tail cone of the plane deployed in flight. While there was never an issue as to the safety of the flight, as a precautionary measure, we decided to divert the plane to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, where it landed just before 10 a.m. CDT.

We are in the process of making alternative travel arrangements for Senator Obama and his campaign.