Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s flight home from a NATO defense meeting didn’t go quite as planned on Wednesday afternoon. According to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, the aircraft carrying Hegseth was forced to make an unscheduled landing in the United Kingdom after a crack was discovered in the windshield mid-flight.
— Matt Margolis (@mattmargolis) October 15, 2025
“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,” Parnell said in a post on X. “The plane landed based on standard procedures and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe.”
🚨 JUST IN: The Air Force C-32 carrying Secretary Pete Hegseth has declared an emergency over the Atlantic, dropped to 10,000 feet, and now reversed course to the UK
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) October 15, 2025
Plane is squawking 7700, which could mean an engine failure, medical issue, onboard fire, or another general… pic.twitter.com/1moPjlggDP
The incident occurred as Hegseth was returning from NATO’s Defense Ministers meeting, where the Trump administration reaffirmed its demand that allies increase defense spending and strengthen deterrence against growing global threats.
AirLive has more:
A flight, with callsign SAM153, carrying U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has been forced to declare an emergency after a depressurization issue mid-flight, according to reports from multiple sources.
The Boeing C-32A, a military version of the Boeing 757, was en route from Brussels, Belgium, where Hegseth had been attending NATO meetings when the crew declared an emergency while starting to cross Atlantic.
The aircraft, which serves as a transport for senior U.S. military and government officials, was about 30 minutes into its flight when the depressurization issue was detected. The Boeing aircraft descended to 10,000 feet.
The Boeing C-32A carrying War Secretary Pete Hegseth diverted to RAF Mildenhall, a key U.S. Air Force base in the U.K. used for American military operations in Europe. The aircraft, designated SAM153, landed safely on runway 10 at 19:10 BST.
This story is developing.
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