Jet Carrying Trump Officials Makes Emergency Landing Over Engine Failure

A Coast Guard jet carrying Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and other officials was forced into an emergency landing after losing an engine in midair on a flight toward the Washington area.

The C-37A, a military Gulfstream V used for senior Coast Guard and DHS travel, diverted to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after the right engine failed. The pilot declared an emergency and asked for an immediate landing.

🚨 JUST IN: A plane carrying DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin just suffered a single engine failure and SAFELY LANDED at Reagan Airport — CBS

Thank God they're safe 🙏🏻

MULLIN: "The United States Coast Guard pilots made the single engine landing feel routine. No panic, just straight… pic.twitter.com/VH2DjoTLkp

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 2, 2026

Audio from the tower captured the moment. “We just lost our right engine and would like to declare an emergency and immediate landing at DCA,” the pilot said. Controllers were told there were 14 people aboard and about two and a half hours of fuel remaining.

The jet landed safely. Airport officials said it “landed safely, was thoroughly checked by Airports Authority Fire and Rescue personnel then proceeded off the runway.”

Mullin later confirmed he was on the plane and praised the crew. “The United States Coast Guard pilots made the single engine landing feel routine. No panic, just straight professionalism,” he wrote. After landing, he said, “the pilots told me that was a first for them! We could not have been in better hands.”

The aircraft has been in Coast Guard service since 2002 and is based at Coast Guard Air Station Washington. It is part of an aging executive fleet that has already drawn heat on Capitol Hill.

DHS and the Coast Guard have argued that newer long-range command-and-control jets are needed because older Gulfstreams are harder to fly and maintain. Democrats have asked why executive aircraft should jump the line ahead of search-and-rescue planes.

The department previously sought tens of millions to replace an aging executive jet. Critics, including Reps. Bennie Thompson and LaMonica McIver, questioned the priority. The Coast Guard later moved to buy two new Gulfstream G700s at a combined cost approaching $200 million.

Wednesday’s scare involved the older C-37A, not one of the new jets. That distinction will not end the spending fight. It does illustrate why crews still treat single-engine procedures as more than a briefing-room exercise.

Everyone walked away. The political argument over the fleet will not.