Coast Guard plane carrying Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin was forced to make an emergency landing at Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday after its right engine failed mid-flight. The Gulfstream V aircraft, traveling from Atlanta to the Washington area, was carrying 14 people when the pilot declared an emergency and safely diverted to the airport at approximately 1:35 p.m. Air traffic control audio captured the pilot reporting the engine loss to the control tower before bringing the plane down without incident.
In a post on social media platform X, Mullin praised the flight crew for their handling of the situation. "The United States Coast Guard pilots made the single engine landing feel routine," Mullin wrote. "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 Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment, referring inquiries to the Coast Guard, which did not immediately respond. The military C-37A jet, stationed at Air Station Washington, has been in active service since 2002.
Mullin drew attention earlier this week after accusing Democrats of using rhetoric to unfairly vilify Immigration and Customs Enforcement and disrupt President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. At a Tuesday news conference in New York announcing the results of “Operation Rotten Apple” — a month-long statewide sweep targeting non-citizens with criminal records — Mullin argued public pushback against federal officers is driven by political adversaries rather than agency actions. "The Democrats throw out all these fearmongers to try to make ICE and President Trump’s administration look as worse as possible," Mullin said.
"Unfortunately, we have the left media that buys into that. I was being very, very clear when I said ICE isn’t there to patrol the polling places. "We’re there to enforce specific threats.
The only reason why we would be at polling places if there is a threat to that polling place or we’re serving a warrant on someone that we have been actively tracking down." The remarks follow heightened scrutiny of ICE over aggressive tactics, workplace raids, and mass detainment operations executed under the Trump administration. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
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