Ayatollah's Son's Delayed Transport Plane

Bartlet receives word in the Oval Office that the plane carrying the Ayatollah's teenage son for a heart-lung transplant lags six hours out, headwinds slowing its path. Laney flags the absence of a surgeon aboard, halting Leo and Toby's banter on patronage fights. Staff pivot to urgency as the aircraft's delay sparks a surgeon hunt, with Mohebi later agreeing to meet it in Baltimore after Bartlet's plea.

3 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments

S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Office Banter Hardens into Political Demand — Then a Clinical Crisis

The delayed transport plane is the concrete logistical constraint announced in the Oval; Laney's ETA and the headwind detail turn an abstract moral dilemma into an urgent scheduling problem tied to life-or-death timing.

Before: En route to its destination, approximately six hours away, subject to headwinds.

After: Still en route with ETA uncertainty; its arrival time remains a pressing variable for decision-makers.

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Six Hours Out — No Surgeon

The Ayatollah's son's delayed transport plane is the central logistical object: Laney reports it's six hours out with headwinds; its ETA defines the time window for surgical intervention and frames the urgency once no surgeon is available.

Before: En route to Baltimore, airborne and delayed (six hours out, headwind affecting ETA).

After: Still en route but with the window constrained; becomes the focal constraint for immediate operational planning.

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

A President's Promise: Mohebi Agrees to Operate

The delayed transport plane is referenced as carrying the critically ill boy; it functions narratively to create urgency and to justify immediate action and potential diversion of medical resources to Baltimore, pressuring Mohebi toward a quick decision.

Before: In flight (the boy aboard), delayed/experiencing headwinds en route toward the U.S. reception point.

After: Still the primary means of transport for the boy; Bartlet's directive implies the plane's destination and receiving hospital will be Baltimore or coordinated with Smith-Lansing.

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