US defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s jet makes unscheduled landing in UK after in-air issue
An aircraft carrying US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has had to make an “unscheduled landing” in the UK.
The jet was about 30 minutes into its journey back to the US after a NATO defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels, when it suffered a “depressurisation issue”.
Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman, confirmed the aircraft had been diverted to the UK due to a crack in the aircraft windscreen.
He posted on X: “On the way back to the United States from NATO’s Defence Ministers meeting, Secretary of War Hegseth’s plane made an unscheduled landing in the United Kingdom due to a crack in the aircraft windshield.
“The plane landed based on standard procedures, and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe.”
Mr Hegseth also posted: “All good. Thank God. Continue mission!”
Open source flight trackers spotted the aircraft lose altitude and begin broadcasting an emergency signal.
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The aviation news website Airlive reported the Boeing C-32A – a military version of the Boeing 757 – had a “depressurisation issue”.
It went on to land at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk at about 7.10pm.
Mr Hegseth had been at a meeting of NATO defence ministers which was also attended by UK Defence Secretary John Healey.
In February, a US Air Force plane carrying secretary of state Marco Rubio and the Senate foreign relations committee chairman, Senator Jim Risch, was similarly forced to return to Washington DC after an issue with the cockpit windscreen.
