Runway Three-Niner
Detailed Involvements
Events with rich location context
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.
Absent visually in this night scene but present as a locus of denied closure — a paved promise turned off‑limits by weather.
Intended touchdown site and the proximate cause for the approach being abandoned.
Represents tangible arrival, routine resolution, and the abrupt withdrawal of certainty.
Runway operations controlled by Andrews Tower and ATC.
Runway Three-Niner is invoked as the intended touchdown point; its unsafe wind condition under 10,000 feet is the proximate cause of the aborted descent and transforms an imminent resolution into continued uncertainty.
Absent physically but operationally present as an anxious focal point—the runway's conditions dictate airborne choices.
Intended destination and trigger for ATC's safety directive.
A narrowly missed closure point; a paved promise denied by forces beyond political control.
Controlled military airfield access, governed by Andrews approach.
Events at This Location
Everything that happens here
Colonel Weiskopf's calm PA initially releases the cabin's tension: the landing‑gear indicator has cleared and Air Force One is authorized to land, even as he recounts the flight's long miles …
While the press cabin listens to Colonel Weiskopf's upbeat update — landing gear light clear, cleared for Andrews — an unexpected wind shift forces Air Force One to abort its …