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!”
All good. Thank God. Continue mission! https://t.co/kCMmfOvHLX
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) October 15, 2025
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.
Mr Hegseth had been attending a meeting of Nato defence ministers which was also attended by UK Defence Secretary John Healey.
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