What is Air Force Two, the jet carrying Charlie Kirk’s casket, and who accompanied it to Phoenix?

Air Force Two, carrying the casket of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, touched down safely at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport around 4:45 p.m. MST on Thursday. Vice President JD Vance, who shared a close bond with Kirk, was on board along with Second Lady Usha Vance. The Second Lady had earlier traveled to Salt Lake City to accompany Kirk’s casket. Members of Kirk’s family and close friends were also present on the flight, as per Arizona’s Family.



Upon arrival, the casket was transferred to a hearse and is expected to be taken to Hansen Mortuary Chapel on Seventh Street, just north of Northern Avenue, according to the outlet.


Earlier in the day, Vice President Vance was seen assisting in carrying Kirk’s casket on the tarmac in Salt Lake City, a moment captured in a video shared on social media by Tyler Bower, a colleague of Kirk’s from Turning Point USA.

What is Air Force Two?

Air Force Two is the official call sign for any US Air Force aircraft carrying the vice president, just as any plane carrying the president takes the call sign “Air Force One.” In practice, the vice president most often flies aboard a C-32, a customized military version of the Boeing 757-200. The C-32 measures 155 feet in length and can fly more than 5,500 nautical miles without refueling. It includes a communications center, conference room, and private stateroom, along with seating for journalists and staff, as per Business Insider.

Over the years, several aircraft have served as Air Force Two, but the C-32 has been the most commonly used. Its interior features a VIP cabin with 10 seats and a main cabin with 32 first-class seats. Past vice presidents have used the plane not only for official travel but also for personal touches; Al Gore once decorated the VIP cabin with family photos and even worked on his 2000 Democratic National Convention acceptance speech aboard the aircraft.

Vice President Vance has already logged several international trips on Air Force Two. In February, he traveled with his wife, Usha, and their children to France and Germany, attending the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris and the Munich Security Conference, as per the outlet’s stpry on April 3. A month later, he and the Second Lady visited Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, marking one of the highest-level US visits there amid renewed tensions with Denmark over the territory.

How was Kirk assassinated?

Kirk was speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University when he was shot and killed. According to Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason, the shooter seemed to be a college student who blended in on the campus where Kirk was killed. Later, in a wooded area close to the university campus, police found a Mauser .30 caliber bolt-action rifle concealed in a towel.

Speaking engagements like the one at Utah Valley University, the scene of the shooting, were part of Kirk's long-term strategy to inspire young conservatives. In 2012, he established Turning Point USA, a group that focuses on youth and enters liberal college campuses.

The organization’s national headquarters is located in downtown Phoenix, and Kirk lived in the Valley.