Coast Guard Plane with Homeland Security Secretary Makes Emergency Landing Due to Engine Failure

A Coast Guard plane carrying Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and more than a dozen other individuals made an emergency landing on September 2, 2026, following an engine failure. The Gulfstream jet landed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. No injuries were reported. The pilot communicated with air traffic control, stating, "we just lost our right engine and would like to declare an emergency and an immediate landing at DCA." The pilot noted that there were 14 people on board and approximately 2½ hours of fuel remaining. The call to divert to Reagan Airport was made around 1:35 p.m. ET, citing "a possible mechanical issue," according to a statement from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. The plane landed safely and was inspected by Airports Authority Fire and Rescue personnel before proceeding off the runway, with no disruption to other flights. Mullin later described the emergency landing on social media, stating, "The United States Coast Guard pilots made the single engine landing feel routine. No panic, just straight professionalism. After we landed, the pilots told me that was a first for them! We could not have been in better hands." The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard, did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the incident.