US War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plane makes unscheduled landing in UK due to windshield crack

An aircraft carrying US War Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unscheduled landing in the United Kingdom on Wednesday afternoon due to a reported crack in the plane’s windshield, Pentagon official confirmed.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell shared details on social media, stating the landing occurred on the return flight from NATO’s Defense Ministers meeting.

Parnell said, “On the way back to the U.S. from NATO’s Defense Ministers meeting, Secretary Hegseth’s plane made an unscheduled landing in the United Kingdom due to a crack in the aircraft windshield.”

He added that the landing was conducted according to standard procedures and that everyone on board, including Hegseth, remained safe.

Hegseth updates public

Hegseth took to X (formerly Twitter) to reassure the public, writing, “All good. Thank God. Continue mission!”

Aircraft safety measures

The Boeing aircraft reportedly descended to 10,000 feet, a standard emergency altitude, after a possible cabin depressurization.

The exact cause of the windshield crack is still under investigation.

No members of the Pentagon press corps accompanied Hegseth on the flight, following the standard protocol observed under previous defense secretaries.

A similar incident occurred in February when an Air Force C-32 carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Risch had to return to Washington due to a cockpit windshield issue. The problem arose roughly 90 minutes after departing from Joint Base Andrews near Washington, D.C.

The C-32, a specially modified Boeing 757-200, is used to transport US leaders, including the vice president, first lady, Cabinet members, and members of Congress.