DETROIT – A military plane carrying 60 congressional delegates en route to Rep. John Dingell's funeral in Michigan turned around Tuesday morning due to inclement weather.
The plane turned back for Washington, D.C. while the funeral in Dearborn, Mich. was delayed due to icy and snowy weather.
Vice President Joe Biden already arrived at the funeral service. He was expected to speak at the church in Dearborn. The pallbearers were expected to include former members of Congress and colleagues of Dingell.
Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) tweeted he was on the flight with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.). Long said the plane circled over Detroit for an hour before they had to turn back for DC.
We held an impromptu service at 30,000 feet for @JohnDingell lead by @repjohnlewis @SpeakerPelosi and @RepFredUpton After a delayed start we took off for #Detroit & circled there for an hour waiting for the temperature to rise one degree. It didn’t and we’re back at @Andrews_JBA
— Billy Long (@auctnr1) February 12, 2019
I am so disappointed that our plane couldn't land in Michigan due to inclement weather. But I’ll be at the ceremony to honor Chairman Dingell's life on Thursday in DC. https://t.co/2DlzOrJ8MP
— Senator Gary Peters (@SenGaryPeters) February 12, 2019
Dingell died Feb. 7 at age 92. He spent 59 years representing Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives before retiring in 2015.
It was revealed last week that Dingell was in hospice care, and his wife tweeted that she missed the State of the Union to be with him.
"The Lovely Deborah is insisting I rest and stay off here, but after long negotiations we've worked out a deal where she'll keep up with Twitter for me as I dictate the messages," Dingell tweeted at 5:41 p.m. Wednesday. "I want to thank you all for your incredibly kind words and prayers. You're not done with me just yet."
His family confirmed his death the next day.
Here is WDIV Local 4's obituary: