Coast Guard jet carrying DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin makes emergency landing due to engine failure

A Coast Guard jet carrying Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and other top Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials made an emergency landing on Wednesday afternoon outside Washington, D.C., after one of its engines failed. The pilot of the C-37A aircraft reported the engine failure to air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, stating, "We just lost our right engine and would like to declare an emergency and immediate landing at DCA." The pilot indicated that there were 14 people on board and approximately 2.5 hours of fuel remaining. The C-37A is the military version of a Gulfstream V jet, commonly used to transport senior Coast Guard and DHS officials. Mullin confirmed the emergency landing in a post on X, stating that the Coast Guard pilots handled the situation with professionalism. He noted, "After we landed, the pilots told me that was a first for them! We could not have been in better hands." The airport reported that the plane landed safely and was checked by Airports Authority Fire and Rescue personnel before proceeding off the runway. CBS News has contacted DHS for comment regarding the incident. The Coast Guard referred inquiries to DHS. In the past, DHS has expressed concerns about the aging aircraft, noting that the Coast Guard plane is 22 years old and faces significant avionics and communications obsolescence issues. The department's fiscal year 2025 spending plan included a request for approximately $50 million to replace the aging Coast Guard executive jet. This request has faced scrutiny from lawmakers, including Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois, who questioned the priority of the purchase during an appropriations hearing. In a Senate hearing on May 20, then-Secretary Kristi Noem defended the request, stating that the existing jet had exceeded its usable hours. Following this, Democratic Reps. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and LaMonica McIver of New Jersey questioned DHS about the prioritization of replacing executive aircraft over updating older Coast Guard planes used for search-and-rescue missions. By October 2025, the Coast Guard revised its request from $50 million to approximately $200 million for two new Gulfstream G700s, which drew further scrutiny from Congress. The first jet was delivered in January, while the second has not yet been delivered to DHS. It remains unclear why the new aircraft was not in service during the secretary's trip.