A file image of Air Force One

November 20, 1999
Web posted at: 1:57 p.m. EST (1857 GMT)

PISA, Italy (CNN) -- President Clinton's plane, Air Force One, landed safely in Italy just before 12:30 p.m. Saturday after someone or something apparently threatened the aircraft.

Shortly after Air Force One took off from Athens, where Clinton was on a state visit, press secretary Joe Lockhart asked reporters who were traveling on the plane to check their bags to ensure they were familiar with the contents and that everything in the bags belonged to them.

They did so, and assured Lockhart nothing was amiss.

Ten minutes later, lead Secret Service Agent Larry Cockell double-checked to make sure no one had found anything suspicious.

One reporter asked Lockhart if it was safe to assume there had been a threat to Air Force One. Lockhart answered, "Yes."

The plane landed at Pisa International Airport, its scheduled stop, about 12:25 p.m. EST. Clinton reportedly is en route from Pisa to Florence, as scheduled.

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