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Plane carrying US Secretary of War declares emergency and lands at British base

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends a North Atlantic Council meeting as NATO Defence Ministers meet at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 15, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman
Hegseth had been attending NATO talks in Brussels (Picture: Reuters)

An aircraft carrying US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth back to the US from Nato talks in Brussels had to make an unscheduled landing in the UK after suffering a cracked windshield.

Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman, confirmed the plane landed without issue and the crew and passengers, including Mr Hegseth, were safe onboard.

He posted on X: ‘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.

‘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!’

The aviation news website Airlive reported that the Boeing C-32A – a military version of the Boeing 757 – was about 30 minutes into the flight when it suffered a “depressurisation issue”.

It went on to land at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk at about 7.10pm.

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