Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is thanking a team of U.S. Coast Guard pilots after they calmly guided his aircraft to safety following a frightening midair engine failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mullin was traveling from Georgia to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday when the right engine of his Coast Guard-operated C-37A jet suddenly failed, forcing the crew to declare an emergency and request an immediate landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe just lost our right engine and would like to declare an emergency and immediate landing at DCA,\u201d the pilot told air traffic controllers, according to audio cited by CBS News<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were 14 people aboard the aircraft, including Mullin and other senior Department of Homeland Security officials. The pilot reported that the plane still had approximately two and a half hours of fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the potentially dangerous situation, the Coast Guard crew brought the jet down safely\u2014and apparently made the entire ordeal look far easier than it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe United States Coast Guard pilots made the single-engine landing feel routine,\u201d Mullin wrote on X. \u201cNo panic, just straight professionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n