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Former President Donald Trump departs after speaking to supporters during a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Saturday, Oct. 09, 2021 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Former President Donald Trump departs after speaking to supporters during a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Saturday, Oct. 09, 2021 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

A plane carrying former president Donald Trump suffered engine failure late Saturday evening over the Gulf of Mexico, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in New Orleans shortly after taking off from the city.

The plane carrying Trump was forced to immediately return to the airport and make the unscheduled landing in Louisiana shortly before 11 p.m., according to people familiar with the episode. The plane was attempting to take Trump home to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., from the Four Seasons Hotel in New Orleans, where he spoke to some of the party's top donors at a private event.

The incident was first reported by Politico. A Trump spokesman declined to comment.

The flight had gone approximately 75 miles after taking off from New Orleans Lakefront Airport, reaching an altitude of about 28,000 feet before turning around, according to tracking data from ADSBexchange.com. The Dassault Falcon 900 carried a retinue of Secret Service agents, other support staff, Trump and some of his advisers, the people said. One of the plane's engines failed, according to people familiar with the episode.

The tracking data, reviewed by The Washington Post, show the plane started its journey in Texas, flew to Palm Beach on Saturday afternoon and then went to New Orleans. A map of the evening flight shows the plane was over the water when it turned around and went back to New Orleans, heading for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

As the jet came in to land, an air traffic controller told the pilot, "There will be vehicles following you down the runway."

"I appreciate it," the pilot said, according to recordings archived by LiveATC.net.

The plane belonged to a donor who loaned it to Trump for the evening, according to people familiar with the matter. The plane's tail number was linked to a Utah-based company that is the trustee for more than 1,400 planes. The donor's identity could not be immediately verified.

Trump advisers worked to secure another donor's plane brought to the airport in New Orleans to meet him, and he did not arrive home to Palm Beach, Fla., until early in the morning, these people said.

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