A U.S. Coast Guard jet carrying Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin made an emergency landing Wednesday after experiencing engine failure. The aircraft was en route from Georgia to Washington, D.C., when the pilot declared an emergency and diverted to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
"We just lost our right engine and would like to declare an emergency and immediate landing at DCA," the pilot communicated to air traffic control, according to audio recordings. The plane was carrying 14 people and had approximately 2.5 hours of fuel remaining at the time of the incident.
Mullin later described the event on X, 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 aircraft, a C-37A Gulfstream V jet identified as C101, is one of several Coast Guard planes that had been flagged for age-related concerns the previous year. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard, had previously noted that the C101 was more than 20 years old, exceeding Gulfstream's recommended service life and typical operational hours for such aircraft.
In a statement from 2025, then-DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin highlighted concerns about aging Coast Guard aircraft, comparing their condition to ships that were also beyond their service life. "The Trump Administration is taking action to restore our Nation’s finest maritime Armed Service to a capable fighting force," McLaughlin had said.
Concerns over the prioritization of executive aircraft upgrades over the modernization of aging Coast Guard planes have been raised by members of Congress. In May 2025, Democratic Representatives Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and LaMonica McIver of New Jersey questioned the DHS on this matter. They wrote to then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, expressing that the desire for luxurious travel should not overshadow the operational needs of the Coast Guard.
Noem had previously faced scrutiny for the purchase of two luxury Gulfstream G700 jets for the Coast Guard, which cost between $172 million and $200 million, significantly exceeding her initial budget request of $50 million. The representatives' letter also drew a parallel to a past action by then-President Trump, referring to his "unconstitutional attempt to personally acquire a $400 million jet from a foreign government."