The charter aircraft carrying the White House press corps to President Obama’s three-nation tour of southeast Asia lost an engine due to a bird strike in Japan early Saturday.
No one was injured in the incident, which occurred as the press plane was preparing to land for a refueling stop in Tokyo. But CBS radio reporter Mark Knoller said on Twitter that the damaged engine required the White House travel office to get another plane for the media, forcing a delay of more than five hours in Japan.
The charter flight left Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland Friday morning, Washington time. Mr. Obama departed Saturday morning on Air Force One for Thailand; he will also visit Cambodia and Burma before returning to Washington on Wednesday.
