Plane Carrying Rubio Encounters Mechanical Issues, Required to Return to Washington
WASHINGTON—An Air Force aircraft carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Sen. Jim Risch to Germany for the Munich Security Conference was compelled to return to Washington late Thursday due to a mechanical issue.
“This evening, while traveling from Washington to Munich, the aircraft that Secretary Rubio is aboard encountered a mechanical problem,” said State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce.
“The plane has turned back and is making its way back to Joint Base Andrews,” she stated. “The secretary plans to continue his journey to Germany and the Middle East on a different aircraft.”
The problem, identified by one official as pertaining to the cockpit windshield of the C-32, a modified Boeing 757, arose roughly 90 minutes after departure from Joint Base Andrews just outside Washington.
While Rubio intends to continue his travels on a new plane, it remains uncertain whether the delay will affect his attendance at a scheduled meeting on Friday morning with Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich.
