Rubio flight to Munich forced to return to U.S. due to mechanical issue

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 returned 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. 

CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan, who was aboard the plane, reported that about 90 minutes into the flight, the cockpit windshield suffered a single crack, prompting Air Force pilots to fly back to the base at a low altitude.

It was unclear what caused the cockpit to crack, Brennan reported. The plane was a C-32, a converted Boeing 757, according to The Associated Press.  

Also traveling with Rubio was Republican Sen. James Risch of Idaho.

Rubio took off for Munich again on a smaller plane, the State Department said, but it was uncertain when he would arrive. Rubio is slated to attend the Munich Security Conference, which begins Friday, along with Vice President Vance, who traveled separately to Europe.

At the conference, Rubio was expected to join Vance for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which comes in the wake of remarks by both President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about working with Russia to negotiate an end to the war. However, it was unknown if Rubio would make it to Munich in time for that meeting. 

Aviation safety has been in the spotlight since the Jan. 29 midair collision near Reagan National Airport outside D.C. involving an American Airlines flight and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.