The President's Plane Is Missing (novel)

The President's Plane Is Missing is a 1967 novel by Robert J. Serling. The book was made into a made-for-TV film by the same name, which aired on 23 October 1973 in the United States. The book tells the story of a crash of Air Force One in remote terrain and the uncertainty stemming from the lack of confirmation if the President is alive or dead. The Vice-President, an unpopular figure, pressures the cabinet to declare him Acting President under the terms of the 25th Amendment so he can address a growing crisis with China with a pre-emptive nuclear strike.

The President's Plane Is Missing spent multiple weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List and its success enabled Serling to become a full-time writer. Serling later penned a sequel to the novel entitled Air Force One Is Haunted, which centered on former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt haunting the current President whenever he boards Air Force One.

Air Force One crashes in a storm in a remote area and the badly-burned and scattered bodies cannot be definitively identified, making it impossible to confirm that Haines has been killed, which would allow his Vice President, Fred Madigan, to automatically assume the presidency. In this uncertainty, and amid a growing crisis with China that threatens to lead to war, Madigan (a weak character, pushed along by his ambitious wife) contemplates invoking the 25th Amendment to become Acting President, though he needs majority support from the cabinet to do so. He was not privy to Haines's plans, and receives contradictory advice from the National Security Advisor (who claims Haines was ready to declare war) and the Secretary of State (who insists Haines was planning a more peaceful way of containing the threat).

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