Overview
- The diversion occurred on October 15 as Hegseth was returning from a NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels.
- Flight data show the Boeing C-32A turned back about 1 hour and 20 minutes after departure and landed at RAF Mildenhall in England.
- Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the landing followed standard procedures, and Hegseth posted on X that he was fine and would press on.
- The jet, identified by outlets as tail number 98-0002, remained on the ground in Mildenhall with no technical findings publicly released yet.
- A U.S. Air Force C-17 accompanying the trip also diverted to Mildenhall before returning to Joint Base Andrews, in a year that has seen multiple diversions involving senior U.S. officials.