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From CBS News: A plane carrying Secretary of State Marcio Rubio bound for Munich, Germany, was forced to return to Maryland late Thursday night due to a “mechanical issue,” officials said.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement the plane was returning to Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, D.C.
“The Secretary intends to continue his travel to Germany and the Middle East on a separate aircraft,” said Bruce, who is also aboard the flight. The plane landed safely shortly before 10 p.m. ET.
No further details were provided. However, an official told The Associated Press that there was an issue related to the cockpit windshield of the C-32, a converted Boeing 757, which occurred about 90 minutes after takeoff.
Rubio is traveling to Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference, which starts on Friday.
Vice President JD Vance, who traveled to Munich separately, is scheduled to join Rubio at the conference in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s plane, en route to Munich for the negotiations on the war in Ukraine on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, has turned around for unknown reasons. pic.twitter.com/a6Zapy57uv
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 14, 2025
CBS host Margaret Brennan, who was part of the press traveling on the plane with Rubio, wrote on social media Thursday night, “Glad to be safely on firm ground back at Joint base Andrews. We were on board Secretary Rubio’s plane about 90 minutes into our flight to Germany when we had to turn around due to mechanical issues. The cockpit windshield cracked triggering the Air Force pilots to fly us back slowly and at lower altitude to return to the base. Thanks to the cool headed pilots!”
Glad to be safely on firm ground back at Joint base Andrews. We were on board Secretary Rubio’s plane about 90 minutes into our flight to Germany when we had to turn around due to mechanical issues. The cockpit windshield cracked triggering the Air Force pilots to fly us back…
— Margaret Brennan (@margbrennan) February 14, 2025
Bloomberg’s Iain Marlow share a video of the plane and wrote, “Well, that was a short trip with Secretary Rubio to Munich! Plane had to return to Joint Base Andrews due to a mechanical issue. Everyone safe. He’ll continue to Germany on a different aircraft. (Not first time these planes have had issues.).”
Well, that was a short trip with Secretary Rubio to Munich! Plane had to return to Joint Base Andrews due to a mechanical issue. Everyone safe. He’ll continue to Germany on a different aircraft. (Not first time these planes have had issues.) pic.twitter.com/2RolvLKl1I
— Iain Marlow (@iainmarlow) February 14, 2025
Rubio was seen exiting the plane and getting into a waiting vehicle once they were safely back on the ground. He was expected to resume his trip on a different plane.
Deplaning back at JBA. pic.twitter.com/RG8VumolnH
— Iain Marlow (@iainmarlow) February 14, 2025
Audio of the pilot requesting permission to return to Joint Base Andrews has already been posted to social media.
🤔 Not a pressurization issue but they want to return to Andrews AFB at 10,000 ft
Audio via @liveatc https://t.co/ZlGjvy0nSa pic.twitter.com/g3gD0PVD0x
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) February 14, 2025
Meanwhile, Rubio spoke about the upcoming discussions with Ukraine and Russia during a podcast interview. Listen below:
🚨RUBIO AND VANCE TO MEET WITH ZELENSKY
.@SecRubio tells @ClayTravis and @BuckSexton he will meet with Zelensky tomorrow along with Vice President JD Vance: “Yesterday was really about confirming that Putin and Zelensky want the war to end, and now it’s about doing the work of… pic.twitter.com/DVzBJNjVfl— The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show (@clayandbuck) February 13, 2025
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