Moonless Flyby — Low Pass and Midair Refuel
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet questions Colonel Weiskopf about the status of the landing gear, revealing the uncertainty and urgency of the situation.
Weiskopf explains the challenges of assessing the landing gear due to the moonless night, highlighting the operational difficulties.
Weiskopf outlines the next steps: a low flyby at Andrews tower and the need for midair refueling, escalating the crisis.
Bartlet sarcastically suggests waiting for a moon, underscoring his frustration with the lack of immediate solutions.
Weiskopf confirms the need for refueling soon, adding another layer of complexity to the crisis.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Frustrated and impatient with operational constraints, masking anxiety about public exposure and political consequence with dry sarcasm.
Standing in the Air Force One hallway, Bartlet drives the exchange with short, pointed questions; he receives Weiskopf's technical options, expresses incredulous impatience, and immediately delegates press coordination by asking Larry to tell C.J.
- • Obtain a clear, actionable plan for determining landing gear status
- • Contain and control the political/public fallout by ensuring staff (C.J.) is informed
- • Minimize risk to the President and passengers while balancing schedule/certification pressures
- • An unresolved technical problem cannot be hidden and will become a press/credibility issue
- • Delaying indefinitely (waiting for a moon) is unacceptable politically and operationally
- • He must remain the central coordinator — delegating communications while owning decisions
Controlled and focused under pressure; concerned about safety but resolute in proposing the least-bad operational option.
Descends from the cockpit to brief the President; calmly reports the unknown gear status, cites lack of moonlight as the visibility problem, proposes a low flyby past Andrews Tower, calls on the Falcon to inspect underside, and warns that refueling will be required soon.
- • Convey the technical reality and feasible options to the President
- • Secure approval for a flyby inspection and prepare for imminent refueling
- • Protect crew and passengers by choosing an operationally responsible tactic
- • Ground-based visual confirmation is impossible without moonlight
- • A low flyby with Falcon support is the pragmatic next step to resolve ambiguity
- • Timely communication with the President is necessary to align operations and public messaging
Implied professional readiness and matter-of-fact focus on the task ahead (not directly shown in scene).
Mentioned by Weiskopf as 'the boys next door' who will 'poke around' under the plane; their role is invoked as the frontline operational team that will perform the close visual inspection during the low pass.
- • Execute a close visual inspection of Air Force One's undercarriage
- • Provide definitive information about landing gear status to command
- • Minimize additional risk during the inspection
- • A close flyby inspection can reveal the gear condition despite darkness
- • They can safely conduct the maneuver under direction
- • Timely technical verification is preferable to indefinite delay
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The absent moon is invoked as the critical environmental factor preventing ground crews from visually inspecting the plane's undercarriage; its absence converts a technical ambiguity into the need for riskier airborne maneuvers.
The Falcon support aircraft is referenced as the platform that will fly alongside and 'poke around' under Air Force One to visually inspect the gear during a low-altitude pass, providing the only plausible close-up assessment in moonless conditions.
Air Force One is the central object of concern — its landing gear indicator is ambiguous, making the aircraft both the site of the technical problem and the subject of the proposed low flyby and refuel. The plane's status drives operational choices and political consequences.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Andrews Tower is the designated ground observation point for the proposed low flyby; it becomes the measuring-post by which crews hope to visually confirm the gear. The tower anchors the risky maneuver's spatial and procedural parameters.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Falcon organization provides the tactical aviation support for the inspection: its aircraft and crew are the operational instrument chosen to resolve the ambiguity. The organization functions as the military capability that converts strategy into action during the emergency.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Weiskopf's outlining of next steps and Bartlet's sarcastic response both highlight the operational difficulties and Bartlet's frustration."
"Bartlet's instruction to Larry about informing C.J. of the refueling leads to Will relaying this information to C.J. and the press."
"Weiskopf's outlining of next steps and Bartlet's sarcastic response both highlight the operational difficulties and Bartlet's frustration."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: "Is it down?""
"WEISKOPF: "I'm sorry, sir. We don't know yet.""
"WEISKOPF: "We do a flyby at Andrews tower and take a look.""
"BARTLET: "And we just can't stay up here for a couple of days and wait till there's a moon?""
"WEISKOPF: "We're going to have to refuel pretty soon.""