Netflix is turning one of the strangest presidential travel stories of 2026 into a documentary. Instadocs: The Decoy Plane will examine how Donald Trump secretly left the aircraft he was publicly expected to travel on after a NATO summit in Turkey, while members of the traveling press corps remained unaware of the switch.
The documentary premieres September 4, 2026, as the third installment of Netflix’s Instadocs series. According to Netflix, the film reconstructs the operation through firsthand accounts from journalists, a former Secret Service agent, and a former Air Force One crew member.
Trump Left Air Force One Through a Catering Truck
The incident occurred in July while Trump was returning from the NATO summit in Turkey. Although Trump was seen boarding the aircraft that reporters believed would carry him onward, he later exited through the back and was transported in a catering truck before boarding a smaller C-32A military aircraft. The journalists accompanying him did not know that the president had switched planes and continued traveling aboard the original aircraft.
The documentary focuses on the security operation behind the unusual maneuver and its consequences for the press corps. Reuters correspondent Gram Slattery recalled staff members instructing journalists to lower their window shades, with the explanation that the Secret Service had requested it.
The Decoy Plane features Slattery, Associated Press photographer Alex Brandon, The Washington Post reporter Dan Lamothe, MS NOW journalist Carol Leonnig, former Secret Service agent Robert McDonald, and former Air Force One crew member Wanda Joell. Their accounts will explore how the operation unfolded and why keeping Trump’s movements secret became necessary.
The documentary is produced by Words + Pictures, with Steve Yaccino serving as showrunner. It follows Instadocs: Alex Murdaugh, Unconvicted and Instadocs: The Prediction Games, making The Decoy Plane the latest quick-turn documentary in Netflix’s current-events series.
