A bullet hole was found by the hatch of Pelosi's special plane visiting Taiwan?

What is the "small hole" next to the hatch of the plane Pelosi took on her visit to Taiwan? The company's main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to the public.

The Chinese military reacted to Pelosi's visit to Taiwan by conducting a series of joint military operations around the island of Taiwan, starting on the night of August 2, and conducting joint air and sea exercises in the northern, southwestern and southeastern sea and air domains of the island. According to an authorized announcement issued by Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) will conduct important military drill operations and organize live fire around Taiwan Island from 12:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Beijing time on August 4, 2022.

Background of the event

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed on a special plane at Songshan Airport in Taiwan, China, at around 10:43 p.m. Beijing time on August 2, despite strong opposition and strict representations from the Chinese side.

A picture circulated on social media platforms, evidenced by a small hole next to the hatch of Pelosi's plane, claimed that Pelosi's plane had been intercepted.

Previously, according to Bloomberg and aerotime and many other aviation information websites, Pelosi's special plane for the trip is believed to be a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-40C, call sign SPAR19, registration number 09-0540.

What is the small hole in the plane?

A search for Boeing C-40-related information leads to several videos on the YouTube platform showing the appearance of the relevant model.

For example, a video posted in January 2021 shows a C-40B/C aircraft arriving at Columbus Air Force Base, Missouri, USA, in November 2020. U.S. 14th Flight Training Wing instructors lead flight trainees on a brief tour of it.

The side view of the C-40B/C is shown more clearly at seconds 13 to 17 of this video. A black dot can be seen near the front of the aircraft between the hatch and the porthole, similar to the "small hole" shown in the online image.

Screenshot of video of C-40B/C aircraft arriving at Columbus Air Force Base, Missouri, USA.

According to the U.S. Air Force website, the C-40B/C class is a variant of the Boeing 737-700, which serves primarily members of the U.S. Congress and troop commanders. In the C-40C-related photos posted on the website, the same "small hole" can be observed between the aircraft's front hatch and porthole.

The C-40C pictures released on the U.S. Air Force website also show a "small hole" (red circle) between the front hatch and the porthole of the aircraft.

Referring to Boeing's website, a large number of pictures of the aircraft, combined with public information, we can find that this small hole is in fact a "standard" feature of most Boeing 737NG models, including the 737-700. The hole has a built-in slide evacuation light (also called slide escape light), which is an important part of the aircraft emergency lighting system.

The Boeing 737NG series is equipped with slide escape lights near the front and rear side hatches.

Therefore, Pelosi was aboard the C-40C aircraft with this "small hole" is not unusual, let alone as proof that the aircraft was intercepted by external forces.