Kash Patel's aircraft lands in Richmond the week of renewed scrutiny over FBI jet use

Kash Patel's aircraft, the Department of Justice Gulfstream G550 (N708JH), was tracked flying from Joint Base Andrews to Richmond International Airport on June 28, a short 23-minute hop that arrived just after 1 a.m. local time. The flight originated from a position over the Atlantic near Miami, following a round-trip to South Florida the previous day.

If aboard, Kash Patel would arrive in the Richmond area the same week Senator Dick Durbin formally requested the Government Accountability Office and the Justice Department's inspector general investigate the FBI director's use of the bureau's jets, per a BBC report. Durbin cited whistleblower allegations that Patel's travel delayed responses to the Charlie Kirk assassination in Utah and the Brown University mass shooting, claims the FBI has called "false" and "egregious."

The Richmond landing is a departure from Patel's recurring destinations — Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Chicago, Boston, Miami — and comes amid a pattern of short hops that tracking data shows often connect to personal trips. The FBI has maintained that Patel reimburses the government for personal travel at commercial airline rates, though critics question whether the reimbursement covers the full operational cost of the Gulfstream G550.