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- Donald Trump spent the weekend on a plane previously owned by Jeffrey Epstein.
- The serial number on the Gulfstream G550 jet match Epstein and the Trump campaign, records show.
- The jet is owned by a Republican donor who allows it to be chartered.
Donald Trump took several trips over the weekend on a private jet once owned by Jeffrey Epstein.
His campaign took several flights in a Gulfstream G550 plane, emblazoned with the code N550GP on its tail.
Local news outlets reported on throngs of Trump supporters — and protesters — watching the plane land in Aspen and Jackson Hole to watch the Republican presidential nominee disembark. Some of Trump's fans expressed disappointment that the plane wasn't as big as the Trump Force One.
That Gulfstream jet also once carried Jeffrey Epstein, who used the tail number N212JE while he owned it, up until his death in 2019.
Epstein used the plane for the last flight of his life, from Paris to New Jersey's Teterboro airport, where the FBI arrested him on sex-trafficking charges.
Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane carries the serial number 5173, corresponding to the same plane when used under a different registration by Epstein, according to data from JetSpy, an aviation data company.
It's common for new owners to change a plane's "N-number" when registering a newly leased or purchased aircraft.
JetBlue, for example, frequently ends its tail numbers with the letters JB, while many Southwest registrations end in WN in a nod to the airline's code assigned by the International Air Transport Agency. Epstein used his initials, JE, for the N-numbers of his planes.
Together, a plane's FAA-assigned N-number and required air-traffic control transponder data allow armchair enthusiasts to track specific flights — and lead many high-profile owners to attempt to cloak their travels.
Trump hasn't made his private jet ownership a secret. During his campaign, he normally flies on a Boeing 757, nicknamed "Trump Force One," which he's owned since 2011. The flying billboard has become a mainstay at his rallies, which he sometimes holds in airports.
The Boeing 757 is too big for the runways at some airports (it can have up to 178 seats; the Gulfstream G550 carries up to 20). So, according to Jetspy spokesperson Mitch Williamson, the Trump campaign sometimes charters private aircrafts.
Trump's Boeing 757 also had mechanical issues that forced it to make an unscheduled stop on Friday, according to the US Secret Service. The plane landed in Billings, Montana — a two-hour drive from Bozeman, where Trump held a rally.
According to public flight records, the Gulfstream jet flew on Friday afternoon from Ontario International Airport in Canada to an airport in Bozeman. It then traveled to Jackson Hole in Wyoming and made a couple of stops in Colorado before returning to Ontario on Saturday night.
Trump held private fundraisers in both Aspen and Jackson Hole on Saturday. It's unclear whether Trump or anyone on his campaign knew the plane was once owned by Epstein. A campaign spokesperson didn't respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
Epstein owned several planes before his death
Epstein killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Years before his death, he was friends with Trump in the Manhattan and Palm Beach social circuits before the two had an apparent falling out.
The Gulfstream G550 — also known as a Gulfstream GV-SP — is operated by James L. Previti, according to Williamson.
Previti, the CEO of Frontier Enterprises, a California-based real estate company, is a frequent donor to Republican politicians. He donated $2,000 to Trump's campaign in 2020 and gave tens of thousands of dollars to Republican-affiliated groups over the past year, Federal Elections Commission records show.
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According to the Miami Herald, Epstein's estate executors sold the Gulfstream jet to a company called N550GP LLC for $10.6 million — below the $17 million asking price. The corporate documents for N550GP LLC were signed by an employee of Frontier Communities, according to the Miami Herald.
The plane is part of a small fleet managed by the California-based Threshold Aviation Group, which makes it available for chartering. According to the company's website, the plane has WiFi available on board.
Neither Previti nor Threshold Aviation Group responded to requests for comment.
"These services are typically managed by charter operators who are responsible for the flight crew, maintenance/storage of the aircraft, and more while being chartered by third parties," Williamson told BI in an email.
Epstein owned at least five different private planes before his death.
According to court testimony from one of his pilots, his first plane was the Hawker Siddeley HS.125, later known as the British Aerospace 125.
Epstein also owned a Gulfstream II, which he sold in November 2013; a Gulfstream IV, which he sold shortly before his death; and a Boeing 727, which was nicknamed "Lolita Express" in the tabloids. The Daily Mail reported that a businessman who purchased the Boeing in 2020 plans to tear it apart and turn it into scrap.
The Trump Organization also owns a Boeing 727.
Epstein sometimes ferried along his famous and wealthy friends on his flights. Flight manifest records made public in litigation involving Epstein show Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey, and Naomi Campbell sometimes took trips on his planes.
Records show Trump flew at least seven times on Epstein's planes in the 1990s between airports near their homes in Palm Beach and New York City. On occasion, Trump also traveled on Epstein's planes with his then-wife Marla Maples and children Eric and Tiffany Trump.