Boeing Co. BA employees allegedly worked on current and future Air Force One planes without the required security credentials, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Pentagon officials are scrutinizing the security lapse, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. The company and the Defense Department also have been examining for how long many workers with access to the jets lacked certain credentials, and why in some cases security clearances had expired months or years ago, the report said. The Wall Street Journal quoted an Air Force spokeswoman as saying both the Air Force and Boeing are looking into what was described as a lapse in personnel tracking and “continue to provide robust security for the presidential jets.” Boeing said that it “quickly notified the Air Force after it discovered what it described as an administrative issue,” the report said. Air Force Ones are a variant of the famous 747 “Queen of the Skies” Boeing jet, which the company recently retired. The current iteration is a specially configured 747-200B, the newest and largest presidential airplane, Boeing has said. Capabilities include longer range and aerial refueling.
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