A Boeing plane carrying US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made an “unscheduled landing” in the United Kingdom on Wednesday after a crack was detected in the aircraft’s windscreen, the Pentagon spokesperson said on X (formerly Twitter). It added that Hegseth and others onboard returned safely and unharmed.

“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,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a post on X. 

He added, “The plane landed based on standard procedures and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe.” 

Hegseth was returning from his visit to Brussels, where he attended defence meetings with NATO allies to discuss security assistance for Ukraine, when the incident took place. 

According to data from FlightRadar24, the Air Force Boeing C-32 aircraft began losing altitude off the southwest coast of Ireland before turning east towards the UK and started descending to about 10,000 feet from 35,000 feet. It then turned back toward RAF Mildenhall, probably its diversion base.

The plane transmitted a “7700 squawk code”. It is a signal indicating an emergency, which can be triggered by situations such as engine failure, cabin depressurisation, or a medical emergency.

Following this, Hegseth said on X, “All good. Thank God. Continue mission!”

This is not the first time a US military aircraft carrying top officials has encountered technical problems. Earlier this year, a US Air Force jet transporting Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Munich had to return to Washington after experiencing a malfunction mid-flight.

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