A U.S. Air Force plane carrying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was forced to make an emergency landing in the United Kingdom on Wednesday.
Hegseth’s plane was diverted after a crack was discovered in the aircraft’s windshield. The Boeing C-32A was returning from NATO meeting in Brussels when the crew declared an emergency over the Atlantic Ocean south of Ireland. The plane landed safely at RAF Mildenhall in England, according to Pentagon officials and flight tracking data.
“On the way back to the United States from NATO’s Defense Ministers meeting, Secretary of War Hegseth’s plane made an unscheduled landing in the United Kingdom due to a crack in the aircraft windshield,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statemen. “The plane landed based on standard procedures and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe.”
Hegseth himself responded to the incident shortly after landing. “All good. Thank God. Continue mission!” he posted on X.
The aircraft is one of the Air Force’s oldest C-32s. The C-32A is a Boeing 757 flown by the 89th Airlift Wing and serves as the primary transport for senior U.S. officials, including the Vice President, Secretary of State, and Congressional delegations.
The incident occurred just hours after Hegseth attended the NATO conference, where he issued a strong warning to Russia over its continued invasion of Ukraine. Speaking at the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Hegseth emphasized that if Russia’s bloody war continues, the United States and its NATO allies would “impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression.”
“Firepower, that’s what is coming,” Hegseth said, referring to European nations’ recent purchases of U.S.-made weapons. He urged NATO allies to increase their commitments under the new Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List initiative.
“Turn words into action in the form of PURL investments. All countries around this table, no free riders,” Hegseth said.
The emergency landing comes one month after a hydraulic problem forced President Donald Trump’s helicopter to make an unscheduled landing in the U.K. Trump was scheduled to stop at London Stansted Airport before returning to the United States. After landing at a nearby airfield, he and first lady Melania Trump transferred to a backup aircraft that safely completed the trip.