Coast Guard Plane Carrying DHS Chief Mullin Lands After Engine Failure

A Coast Guard C-37A carrying DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin made an emergency landing Wednesday at Reagan National Airport after losing an engine en route from Georgia to Washington.

• 14 people were on board; the plane carried 2.5 hours of fuel.
• The pilot declared an emergency and requested immediate landing at DCA.
• The C-37A is the military variant of a Gulfstream V, used to transport senior Coast Guard and DHS officials.
• DHS flagged the aircraft last year, calling it 22 years old with significant obsolescence issues.

Why it matters: The landing spotlights a prolonged debate over replacing DHS's aging executive aircraft.

• A $50 million replacement request from fiscal year 2025 grew to a roughly $200 million proposal for two Gulfstream G700s by October 2025.
• Democratic lawmakers questioned why executive jet replacement took priority over older search-and-rescue aircraft.

How 36 sources split on this story

Where they split: Coverage does not split on the facts; both outlets report the same emergency landing and Mullin's statement.

What’s next: DHS has not responded to requests for comment; the Coast Guard referred questions to DHS.

• What caused the engine failure, and will it accelerate or stall the aircraft replacement debate?
• Will Congress revisit the $200 million Gulfstream proposal in light of the incident?