Overview
- The specialized WC-135R took off from RAF Mildenhall at 07:20 UTC for a mission over the North Sea and Norway before turning back toward the UK.
- At about 11:10 UTC the crew broadcast transponder code 7700 indicating a general in-flight emergency while over the North Sea.
- The aircraft descended to roughly 13,000 feet and flew holding patterns east of the base before returning to land at 11:48 UTC with ground crews standing by.
- No injuries were reported after the safe landing at the Suffolk base, and officials have not detailed any technical or medical issue.
- The airframe, registration 64-14831, is a roughly 61-year-old but modernized WC-135R converted from a KC-135R, and the flight became the most-tracked on Flightradar24 with more than 6,000 viewers.