Weezha Roz–US-On Thursday, a military C-32 aircraft carrying US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch was forced to return to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland due to a technical issue at 10,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean.
A crack in the cockpit windshield was reported 90 minutes into the flight. While the issue did not pose an immediate danger, the pilots decided to return as a precautionary measure, following safety protocols.
The aircraft safely landed at Andrews Base around 10 PM Eastern Time (ET).
Rubio took a smaller plane to Germany and arrived in Munich on Friday morning (February 15) to attend the Munich Security Conference.
He was scheduled to attend the Friday morning session with Vice President Joe DeVence and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war.
While the initial delay raised concerns, government sources confirmed that Rubio arrived in Munich on time.
Reports indicate that side meetings with Russian diplomats were included in the conference agenda, though specific details of Rubio’s involvement in these discussions have not been disclosed.
This incident occurred following a series of US military aviation accidents, including the crash of an F-35 fighter jet in Alaska (January 2025) and a collision between a military helicopter and a commercial aircraft in Washington, which resulted in 67 fatalities.
Weezha Roz
