A plane carrying Pete Hegseth, the U.S. Secretary of War, was forced to make an emergency landing in the United Kingdom after a crack was discovered in the aircraft’s windshield.
“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,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in an X post on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Parnell noted that everyone on board was safe after the landing, though he did not specify what might have caused the crack.
“The plane landed based on standard procedures and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe,” Parnell added.
The NATO Defense Ministers meeting, which Hegseth attended alongside allied defense ministers, took place at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
Following the incident, Hegseth reshared Parnell’s post on his own X account, writing, “All good. Thank God. Continue mission!”
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Similar Incident Involving the Trumps Last Month
Last month, a helicopter carrying Donald and Melania Trump also made an emergency landing in the U.K. after experiencing a “hydraulic issue.”
The president and first lady were aboard the Marine One helicopter near London when the issue occurred on Thursday, Sept. 18, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“Due to a minor hydraulic issue, and out of an abundance of caution, the [Marine One] pilots landed at a local airfield before reaching Stansted Airport,” Leavitt said in a statement to the White House press pool.
“The president and first lady safely boarded the support helicopter,” she added.
The incident happened after the couple’s historic state visit with the British royal family. They were traveling a short distance from Chequers to Stansted Airport to reunite with Air Force One for their return trip to Washington, D.C.
Although the emergency landing caused a brief delay, they later resumed their journey aboard Air Force One and arrived home safely.
