A military aircraft carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch had to return to Washington, D.C., after encountering technical difficulties late Thursday. The flight was headed to Germany for the Munich Security Conference when the incident occurred.
According to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, the plane encountered a mechanical setback while en route from Washington to Munich. She confirmed that the aircraft was redirecting back to Joint Base Andrews due to the issue. Bruce stated, “The secretary intends to continue his travel to Germany and the Middle East on a separate aircraft.”
The problem, involving the cockpit windshield of the C-32—a modified Boeing 757—was identified approximately 90 minutes into the flight from Joint Base Andrews.
Rubio is determined to continue with his travel plans on a different aircraft, although it remains uncertain whether the change in schedule will affect his participation in a meeting scheduled for Friday morning with Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich.
