Government aircraft carrying Pete Hegseth Turned around over the Atlantic Ocean and headed towards a British military base after his windshield cracked.
The defense secretary was returning to the United States from Brussels on Wednesday, where he met with other NATO defense ministers.
However, after 1 hour 20 minutes of flight, the Boeing C-32A turned over the Atlantic. It was about 80 miles off the Irish coast when it changed course, according to Flightradar24.
He then flew for about two hours to RAF Mildenhall, an RAF base about 20 miles from Cambridge that is now mainly used by the US Air Force.
Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, said the plane “made an unscheduled landing … due to a crack in the aircraft's windshield.”
“The plane landed according to standard procedures and everyone on board, including Minister Hegseth, is safe,” he added.
“Everything is fine. Thank God,” Hegseth wrote in an X-post. “Continue mission!”
The C-32A is the military version of the Boeing 757 and is used to fly senior government members. He acted like Air Force Twowhich the Vice President flies, and Air Force One if the regular VC-25A used by the President is considered too large.
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Hegseth's flight was accompanied by a C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft. Flight tracking data shows it also headed to Mildenhall but departed two and a half hours later. He landed at Joint Base Andrews shortly before midnight.
Meanwhile, the plane with the cracked windscreen, registered as 98-0002, appears to still be at Mildenhall.
It first entered service 27 years ago. The age of government aircraft has prompted work on new Air Force One – but Boeing is years behind schedule and billions over budget.
A Boeing C-32 takes off from Joint Base Andrews. Austin DeSisto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
This is the third time this year that a senior member of a government flight has been diverted.
In February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was aboard another C-32 bound for Germany. About an hour and a half after takeoff, he returned to the United States after his windshield also cracked.
And at the end of President Donald Trump's state visit to Britain last month, a helicopter flew him from the prime minister's country home to London Stansted Airport, where Air Force One was parked.
White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said a “minor hydraulic issue” forced Marine One to divert to London Luton Airport. Another helicopter carried Trump the remaining 25 miles, and he was delayed only 20 minutes.
