Why Was Air Force One -- The Presidential Plane -- Seen Flying Over The Austin Airport?

AUSTIN, TX -- If you looked up in the sky Monday afternoon and thought you were seeing things, you weren't. That was Air Force One flying over the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport -- the presidential aircraft that transports Barack Obama to key meetings and gatherings.

But President Obama was scheduled to be in Washington, D.C. on Monday, not Austin. Yet his airplane -- one of a fleet dubbed Air Force One when the president's aloft -- was seen taking off, landing and then doing it all over again.
What gives?
In an email, Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Wallace, the public affairs chief for the 89th Airlift Wing, said that was Air Force One, but it's here for maintenance. No one other than the pilot testing the aircraft was on board, he added.
"The Boeing 747 aircraft seen today at Austin Bergstrom International Airport is one of two VC-25As assigned to the Presidential Airlift Group, 89th Airlift Wing, Joint Base Andrews AFB, MD," Wallace wrote. "The VC-25A is commonly known as "Air Force One," although that radio call sign is reserved exclusively for occasions when the President of the United States is aboard any U.S. Air Force aircraft."
He explained the scope of the testing being conducted on the presidential plane.
"Th particular VC-25 seen at Austin Bergstrom International Airport is completing a maintenance cycle and is currently undergoing an operational testing regimen prior to being certified for return to Presidential service," Wallace said. "This testing program includes the requirement to conduct multiple takeoffs, approaches and landings under a variety of conditions. There were no passengers aboard the aircraft seen at Austin Bergstrom International Airport."

>>> Image via Boeing Co.