A government plane carrying Pete Hegseth U-turned over the Atlantic Ocean and diverted to a British military base after its windshield cracked.
The Secretary of Defense was returning to the US from Brussels on Wednesday, where he had met with other NATO defense ministers.
However, 1 hour and 20 minutes into the flight, the Boeing C-32A turned around over the Atlantic. It was about 80 miles off the Irish coast when it changed course, per data from Flightradar24.
It then flew about two hours to RAF Mildenhall, a Royal Air Force base about 20 miles from Cambridge that is now primarily used by the US Air Force.
Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson, said the plane “made an unscheduled landing … due to a crack in the aircraft windshield.”
“The plane landed based on standard procedures and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe,” he added.
“All good. Thank God,” Hegseth said in an X post. “Continue mission!”
The C-32A is a military variant of the Boeing 757, and is used to fly top members of government. It has operated as both Air Force Two, flying the vice president, and Air Force One if the usual VC-25A used by the president, is deemed too large.
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A C-17 Globemaster, a military transport aircraft, was accompanying Hegseth’s flight. Flight-tracking data shows it also diverted to Mildenhall but departed two and a half hours later. It landed at Joint Base Andrews shortly before midnight.
Meanwhile, the plane with the cracked windshield, registered as 98-0002, appears to still be at Mildenhall.
It first entered service 27 years ago. The age of the government jets has prompted work on a new Air Force One — but Boeing is running years behind schedule and billions over budget.
Austin DeSisto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
This is the third time this year that a senior member of the government’s flight has been diverted.
In February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was on board a different C-32 heading to Germany. About an hour and a half after takeoff, it returned to the US after its windshield also cracked.
And at the end of President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK last month, a helicopter was taking him from the Prime Minister’s country house to London Stansted Airport, where Air Force One was parked.
White House Press Secretary Karoline 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 only delayed about 20 minutes.
