Cleared — Then Aborted: Wind Shift Forces Go‑Around
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Colonel Weiskopf announces the successful resolution of the landing gear issue and the clearance for landing, summarizing the flight's achievements and duration.
Colonel Weiskopf receives new information about a wind shift, forcing Air Force One to abort its landing and maintain altitude for another circuit.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Matter‑of‑fact and even‑keeled — treating political accomplishments as deliverables to be reported.
White House staff on the ground are invoked by Weiskopf as the source of political updates (legislation, engagement, Colombia recertification) that frame the flight as productive; their information is broadcast into the cabin during the announcement.
- • Ensure the President's political accomplishments are recorded and communicated.
- • Maintain continuity of governance despite being physically remote.
- • Manage messaging by providing concise status updates to the aircraft.
- • Timely, accurate information is essential for executive decision‑making.
- • Political achievements must be protected and publicized appropriately.
- • Operational realities should be respected but not allowed to obscure accomplishments.
Furious and exasperated — a public commander reduced to private rage by an uncontrollable contingency.
Hearing Weiskopf's PA from the hall, President Bartlet reacts viscerally: he storms into his office and slams the door, an immediate physical expression of anger and frustrated helplessness at the lost landing.
- • Regain control of the situation and end the airborne limbo.
- • Protect the schedule and the political work tied to the trip's timing.
- • Signal authority to staff even while emotionally venting in private.
- • Delays and procedural interruptions undermine executive authority and momentum.
- • Operational contingencies should be managed to minimize political disruption.
- • He is ultimately responsible for outcomes and their political consequences.
Controlled and procedural — outwardly calm and dutiful, using steadiness to contain cabin anxiety.
Speaking over the PA from the flight deck, Colonel Weiskopf calmly announces a cleared landing‑gear indicator, gives flight statistics, then relays Andrews Approach's abrupt instruction to abort the descent and execute a 30° right turn.
- • Accurately convey technical status and ATC instructions to passengers and crew.
- • Maintain calm in the cabin and reassure the President and staff.
- • Ensure the flight crew executes ATC directives safely and without panic.
- • Clear, accurate information reduces panic and preserves operational discipline.
- • Authority of Andrews Approach and flight procedures must be followed for safety.
- • It is his duty to translate technical decisions into passenger reassurance.
Neutral, authoritative — prioritizing runway safety and operational constraints over passenger convenience.
Andrews (the controller) is the originating authority for the wind‑shift instruction; through Andrews Approach, the tower's assessment forces the aircraft to abort the approach for safety.
- • Protect runway operations by preventing a landing under unsafe wind conditions.
- • Preserve airfield safety and coordinate traffic sequencing.
- • Communicate necessary vectors to inbound aircraft promptly and clearly.
- • Air traffic control decisions are based on safety and immediate atmospheric data.
- • Controllers must issue directives even if they inconvenience high‑profile flights.
- • Clear, direct commands are the most effective means to maintain safety.
Operationally calm and alert — focused on checklist discipline rather than the cabin's emotional tenor.
The flight crews (collectively referenced) receive Andrews Approach's vector and execute the commanded abort: abandoning the descent, rolling a 30° right turn and maintaining altitude while managing aircraft systems and passenger safety.
- • Execute the go‑around precisely and maintain aircraft safety.
- • Stabilize the aircraft for a subsequent approach when safe.
- • Communicate necessary updates to the cabin without creating panic.
- • Safety and adherence to ATC override schedule and ceremony.
- • Clear procedures and command flow prevent accidents.
- • Calm execution reduces risk and downstream complications.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Air Force One functions as the event's physical and narrative stage: its landing‑gear indicator is cited as cleared, it receives ATC vectors, and it executes the go‑around. The plane's continued aloft status turns procedural data into political and emotional consequence.
The cockpit door is referenced as the acoustic barrier between flight deck and cabin — Weiskopf notes hooting heard 'through our cockpit door.' It marks the division between procedural control (flight deck) and the reactive public (cabin).
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The flight deck is the operational heart where instruments, crews, and command decisions produce the landing clearance and then enact the aborted approach and 30° right turn at Andrews' instruction.
The staff cabin functions as the corridor of operations connecting decision‑makers and the press; action moves through it as the announcement is relayed and staff react privately and professionally to the go‑around.
The press cabin is the primary observation space where passengers (reporters and staff) receive Weiskopf's PA, react with hoots and banter, and absorb the abrupt aborted‑landing news — a concentrated site of public scrutiny and rumour.
The President's office aboard Air Force One becomes the private stage for Bartlet's emotional response; upon hearing the go‑around, he storms into this compact space and slams the door, converting public procedure into private fury.
Runway Three‑Niner is invoked as the intended landing strip; Andrews notifies the crew of a wind shift affecting this runway, which directly triggers the abort and go‑around.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The White House is the institutional frame: its staff supplies political progress reports that color the cabin's mood, and its leader (the President) is emotionally affected by the operational delay. The organization is both the content of the PA's politics‑forward inventory and the body whose schedule is disrupted.
Andrews Approach (the air traffic control authority) is the decisive organizational actor: its assessment of a wind shift under 10,000 feet triggers the abort of the approach and forces the aircraft to execute a go‑around for safety.
The Air Force One Press Corps occupies the press cabin as witnesses and amplifiers: their hooting, banter, and attention create a public atmosphere that reacts instantly to the go‑around and pressures staff to manage information tightly.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Weiskopf's announcement of the wind shift and need to abort landing leads to Bartlet's frustrated reaction, slamming his office door."
"C.J.'s relieved kiss of Ed leads to Weiskopf's announcement of the successful resolution and clearance for landing."
"C.J.'s relieved kiss of Ed leads to Weiskopf's announcement of the successful resolution and clearance for landing."
"Weiskopf's announcement of the wind shift and need to abort landing leads to Bartlet's frustrated reaction, slamming his office door."
Key Dialogue
"COLONEL WEISKOPF: Well, ladies and gentlemen, from the flight deck, this is Colonel Weiskopf. ... you've no doubt heard that we have a clear indicator light on our landing gear, and we are cleared for landing at Andrews Air Force Base."
"COLONEL WEISKOPF: They're going to move us to runway three-niner. There's a strong wind shift under 10,000 feet, so Andrews approach has asked us to abandon our descent, make a 30-degree right turn and maintain our current altitude."