President Trump is delivering remarks from the White House Brady Press briefing room in the aftermath of a terrible aviation disaster.
The FAA said the midair crash occurred before 9 pm EST. American Airlines Flight 5342 was inbound to Reagan National at an altitude of about 400 feet (122 meters) and a speed of about 140 mph (225 kph) when it rapidly lost altitude over the Potomac River, according to data from its radio transponder. The Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet, manufactured in 2004, can be configured to carry up to 70 passengers.
A few minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked the arriving commercial jet if it could land on the shorter Runway 33 at Reagan National and the pilots said they were able. Controllers then cleared the plane to land on Runway 33. Flight-tracking sites showed the plane adjust its approach to the new runway.
Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later: “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.” Seconds after that, the two aircraft collided.
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as a big President Trump fan … this seems to be a blame Biden and I’d rather it be more about finding out what went wrong and more sympathy for the family. He seems off to me….
I think he is angry – this should NOT have happened and I think he wants to get to the bottom of why it did! We have all had concerns about people in positions of authority who are simply not qualified for the jobs which they hold, but who are there simply because they check a “box”. He is just willing to say what a lot of people are probably thinking, IMHO…
Why did it happen..
Failure to see and avoid in VFR conditions for both aircraft.
Failure to follow departure procedures in IFR conditions for the departing helicopter.
Failure to follow / comply with an air traffic directive from the Tower for the helicopter.
The blackhawk helicopter mistaken one plane (on long final) for another (on short circling final to 33).
IMHO: Does not really require the presidents attention to figure “the WHY” out.
Publicly available ADS-B data indicates the helo was not departing Anacostia-Bolling, but maybe returning. It departed from someplace in McLean, VA.
https://www.airnavradar.com/data/flights/PAT25
Langley, See Eye Aye per the starting course of the BH
That could explain why Trump is so angry.
Because the odds of this being an accident are incalculable, given all circumstance…
Trust God.
Fear not.
Agree
I agree.
But more so in the sense of let the experts do their jobs first.
This was not the time to politicize what we all know has been going on.
Unless he was trying to “get out ahead of something” I would have said we’re collecting the data, NTSB accident response teams are already investigating.
He’s not a damn aviator and has never worked a mishap.
The experts might not feel comfortable telling the truth – Trump does and does not hold back. It’s something we all know is happening all around us. We’ve been reading about it for years – incapable pilots making mistakes being one amongst many.
Why did controllers reroute the plane’s runway when there was a plane at a higher altitude circling to use the 33 runway?
My thought: Either the ATC gave or helicopter pilot understood wrong plane identification.
Exactly
My thought too – something is fishy here in my opinion. This happens in air space right over the White House, the busiest air space in the country, where people flying planes/helicopters would be on high alert, shortly after Trump moves in? Sure, right.
Wouldn’t there be normal restrictions on flying within the vicinity of the WH? I thought I’d heard in the past that there was but I could be mistaken.
Something definitely went wrong as the condition of the aircraft/helicopter were good as were the landing conditions.
The Competency Crisis Proliferating The West
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/competency-crisis-proliferating-west
It would be different if it were in the middle of a hurricane, etc … and if we keep on this course we are headed to our own Chernobyl or something worse.
So you think this is a terrorist event?
If a rise in ignorance is purposeful and by extension terrorism then the Dept. of Education is worse than Al-Qaeda.
The issue is when and where to say such things.
This is the comment section … if you don’t like the comments, leave.
And Biden made more DEI changes in Aviation just days before he left office.
WHAT WENT WRONG was that the Biden and Obama administrations lowered their standards in hiring.
WTH????!!!!
It was pilot error, the tower was doing its job in delivering clearances and ensuring the helicopter had the jet in sight.
Listen to the tower audio instead of drawing conclusions.
I NEVER said that it was the tower’s error. In fact, I have listened to the recording where the tower tells the helicopter pilot to be aware of the airliner coming in for a landing.
YOU DO NOT KNOW the background of the 3 pilots in the helicopter. It could also be that the tower person was overwhelmed due to budget cuts and could not babysit the pilots in the helicopter (which is not the tower person’s job). It could be that the tower person was busy baby sitting some DEI hires up there in the tower doing the work of 3 people.
DO NOT PUT WORDS INTO MY MOUTH.
Even if there were 10 drag queens in the tower giving a show it would still be pilot error.
The pilots have the ultimate responsibility.
Now if there were 10 drag queens in the blackhawk helicopter cockpit, that would be different.
I jest but bottom line is: pilot has ultimate responsibility.
Failure to see and avoid on behalf of both aircraft in VFR conditions AFAIK
IF you watch Mentour Pilot then you know the Swiss Cheese Model of how it takes a series of “errors” to finally cause a major crash.
It may take 5 errors committed by 3 different people but it does not necessary mean that the last error was the worst error.
If you watch Mentour Pilot’s videos on the Boeing Max crashes then you will learn that the office people ASSUMED that a pilot would react a certain way (and only that way) when the updated engine placements and software got effed up and fought against each other.
Their ASSUMPTIONS caused 2 plan crashes because the pilots who were on the planes for different legs of the trips reacted differently when the problems started. They were not trained to understand the Max. They just assumed one and only one pilot reaction.
So, NO, it was not the pilot’s fault.
How many DEI people working in the offices and boardrooms of Boeing approved this cheaper shortcut, ie, NOT PUTTING PILOTS IN THE FLIGHT SIMULATORS?
It could be anything.
It appears to be The Perfect Storm as you imply.
the plane being asked to change runways on short notice
communications – two towers involved – one for plane landing, the other helo
Should not allow training near commercial airfields
night vision goggles hinder a bit (per military pilot comments on gateway pundit
( of medical emergency in helo?)
Big duh.
Every air mishap investigation starts with hypotheses that can be ruled out or proven true.
The point is to do the investigation. Your effort to shield aircrew doesn’t pass the common sense test. In that situation with a known approach path that close to final? Are you kidding me?
Let the investigation proceed. Then hang the culprits.
BM is correct vis “see and avoid” and “safety of flight”.
You are correct that there may be other factors involved.
What if the helicopter was flying without lights ??
Yes. There are so many what ifs that have yet to be explained but solely blaming it on the pilots is silly.
I have watched many “plane crash” and “near plane crash” videos and many times it is not, absolutely not, the pilots fault.
One in Canada, the ground crew pumped in jet fuel as LITERS instead of what the manual called for in GALLONS. Of course, the plane ran out of fuel. The pilots successfully landed the plane because they were The Best and The Brightest and NOT DEI hires. But it was a nailbiter.
You do know there are fuel indicators in the cockpit? Half a tank is half a tank regardless of liters, gallons or pounds.
It’s part of a preflight check. Unless, of course, folks aren’t checking.
Again, you are correct about linked failures leading to catastrophe. But that does not relieve aircrew of its responsibilities.
There’s a bit more to that story. If you are referring to the Gimli Glider, the errors included: measuring fuel in kilograms rather than pounds (not liters vs. gallons, but a similar mistake resulting in a 55% fuel shortfall); a nonfunctioning fuel level sensor; and a turned-off-by-the-maintenance-crew (and also nonfunctioning) backup fuel level sensor. The pilots calculated their fuel load from dripstick measurements but converted the measurements incorrectly due to the recent imperial/metric changes, which had been inconsistently applied by the airline to portions of the refueling process, but not the whole thing. That was clearly an airline responsibility, as the accident investigation found. And from what I can tell, the pilot did not actually have enough information at the time to have caught the error during the fuel calculation, because the information he got from his fuelling crew was in imperial measurements and he was expecting it to be in metric (which is what his aircraft used). Other fuelling crew in the same airline presented the data in metric instead, causing more confusion.
So other than second-guessing the fuelling crew’s data, or refusing to fly without functioning fuel gauges, which probably would have been my own choice, I would say this particular error was not the pilot’s fault – and indeed he was cleared of any wrongdoing in the end.
The helo had lights on.
And that would not be an aircrew SA problem?
aren’t supposed to report to prison for 11yrs – LOL i kid i kid
Budget cuts for ATC? The government spent $2T more than it took in last year. There is no excuse for cutting the budgets of critical safety functions. Was the money used to feed and house illegal aliens? Or to support some other government boondoggles?
This is the kind of thing we need to figure out if the country is to survive.
The government seems to do everything that it can to ruin our nation. Boeing seemed to join in on the “Dollars Over Safety” brave, new world sort of thinking.
Of course, the bulk of the money was spent on illegals. We saw it right before our eyes. They got the 5-star hotels in NY, everything was paid for by our government.
” paid for by our government.” Our government is supposed to be ‘we the people’ but it certainly isn’t today.
“…Overwhelmed by budget cuts>>>” is a HUGE presumption to even bring up!
Nothing indicataes the Tower controller WAS STRESSED OR OVERWHELMED by anything, he was on top of it! Not as if there were 3 three planes landing simultaneously; it was strictly one-on-one with the Plane’s pilot and the chopper’s pilot.
Your “budget cuts” comment is gratuitous and unwelcome!
What are military ‘training flights’ doing over/around one of the busiest airports in America?
Get out over the sea or desert.
And exactly where President Trump lives.
Who would want to kill our President?/sarc
Except that you stated this accident is directly the consequence of Biden/Obama hiring practices.
Possibly.
But you have no dang clue until an actual investigation is conducted for all parties involved. An investigation conducted by impartial professionals trained to piece together the details of air mishaps.
Those words did come directly from your virtual mouth.
For the uninitiated there are times when jumping to conclusions actually causes greater damage.That certainly was the case for many law enforcement and legal types January 6th, 2020.
I’m all for drawing political blood. But do it from a rock solid foundation to brace the argument.
Which pilot? I listened to the tower audio and it sounds like ATC asked a question of the helicopter pilot about whether or not they saw the jet, rather than giving them an immediate order to change course. It sounds like the AA pilot was on a standard runway approach and was not at fault but either/both the ATC/BH pilot did not react correctly, or quickly enough, to avoid the jet.
The BH pilots did not hear the tower and / or were looking at or for the wrong plane.
Therefore they were unable to comply with the Tower instruction.
Both aircraft pilots failed to see and avoid in VFR conditions, though the blame is more on the BH than the Jet on circling final to 33. Cant really fault the Jet if a Helicopter crosses your path on the glide path. Not much to do in that case at low altitude and configured for landing for slow flight.
Ultimately its a human error. Its called being human.
Humans make mistakes and in this case it cost 70 lives which is sad. But when humans take to the sky without wings of their own relying on little machines.. it remains machinery and eyeballing.
The POTUS often gets ahead of his skiis. THERE IS NO BENEFIT in pinning this on DEI when the facts aren’t in!
Show compassion, get the facts.
There could be a software glitch, or other item contributing to this disaster.
Obama and Biden lowering standards so people w severe mental issues, small people, etc., is RIDICULOUS.
You don’t need geniuses for ATC. You need sharp people w a particular aptitude.
“The POTUS often gets ahead of his skis.”
Wrong. Thanks for playing.
And thanks for inflicting the Clintons on us for eight long years.
Really ? Name something in government that they didn’t foul up .
Watch this short video. This definitely falls on the helo. The CRJ was on a perfect approach (he explains in the video the approach and where the helo took off from) and was exactly where it should’ve been.
You’ll see how demanding of a task the CRJ had: they approach to runway 1 (the longer runway)but do a sidestep maneuver to land on runway 33 (shorter).
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/small-plane-crashes-near-reagan-national-airport-after-fiery-explosion-caught-camera
?itok=hEybydYP
Consider this…
Wow! That is a fascinating, incredibly detailed, and ultimately damning explanation of what went wrong!
If the air traffic controller simply asked the BH pilot if they had the plane in sight, without clarifying exactly which plane they meant, then it does appear that they screwed up! Absolutely tragic, but also sounds like it was avoidable if the ATC had been more specific and given clear instructions rather than making assumptions.
From the reconstruction of the timing there may have been less then a minute to establish the circumstances and divert the helo. As other’s have said, I’m going to guess the failure chain starts further back in time.
ATC failed to control, and the helo pilot exceeded the ceiling of 200 ft for Route 4 it was on.
Here is the helo flight map. https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3851p.ct004873/?r=-0.061,0.003,1.119,0.58,0
Essentially the ATC vectored the jet into the path of the Helo to land on Rwy 33 Due to wind gusts of 25 mph on rwy 01 per the audio released. The jet had perform a wide left hand turn to rwy 33 putting the jet over the helo path route 4 directly in the path of the Blackhawk.
The tower did not tell the helicopter – heading directly towards the right side of the plane to pull up or make a sharp right !!!
That could very well have been a factor in this accident. But since we are all just speculating at this point, maybe the simplest explanation is the best one right now. It was a horrific accident.
Pointing out the truth is not the same as passing blame.
Indeed.
Pete Buttigieg and DEI did this.
No they didn’t. You’re projecting and making rational conservatives look bad.
Nope … the chest-feeder has been a 24/7 destroyer.
Nope. That was Pete Chestfeeder.
Unknown.
Pure speculation.
Yup. Trump’s govt isn’t running anything in the FAA or DOD yet. Until Trump’s govt comes in and throws out all the saboteurs, it’s not his fault. Let the military tribunals begin.
wvgal every time I question him I find i have taken the bait. I am cynical and perhaps too much but I am expecting to see a blue hair bigendered furry wearing kitty ear headphones watching a radar screen
This was nothing but another SNAFU by our Military. Our Military aircraft crash all the time.
Also very Big Military operation practicing for Nuclear War going on in the Washington- New York area. With the local 12th Aviation Battalion heavily involved.
Black Helicopter, No transponder plus the US military = Recipe for disaster.
Say… Do you know of any wars we have won lately?
WHO seemed off ??!!!
Why didn’t the helicopter pilot answer Traffic Control ??!!!
Mil was most likely up UHF. All civilian aircraft, and every recording you have heard are VHF feeds. If PAT25 responded over UHF it would not have been heard over VHF.
Thank you for that knowledge.
As I recall, the helicopter’s “PAT25” call sign would indicate it was an Operational Support Airlift mission. The PAT prefix indicates (indicated) it was a member of the Army organization that supports small aircraft personnel transport, kind of analogous to civilian business transport. The aircraft -12 form for that flight (in the “logbook”) would indicate whether it was coded a training mission, an operational category, maintenance etc.
Kind of a busy, and secure, piece of airspace for a routine training flight, as reported by media.
Tragic for all involved or affected.
I just read about the radio difference between civilian & military, which seems crazy for a profoundly congested military/civilian DC/Virginia airspace.
The Jet was approved to land … so … my-no-pilot-info-mind wants to know …WHY would a Helicopter – maybe with NO lights – maybe NOT landing … pass though the VERY BUSY landing/takeoff airspace for passenger planes ??
Why not over or around ??
We’re he / she texting, watching porn?
Seriously?
Not the first time you have prefaced your gripe with this type of disclaimer
Yes!!! Non stop “I love Trump BUT…”
It’s a little suspect to me…
Yeah, sure.
So transparent.
How about doing both? President Trump IS investigating what went wrong. Because he is dedicated to transparency we will soon know the answers.
At the same time, it is completely appropriate to blame Biden. His administration was corrupt and the incompetent, leaving us less safe.
President Trump can do both and I applaud him for that.
Exactly. Part of the investigation should consider “the Milley Effect” on aptitude and training in our military.
The Milleytary.
“Blame Biden” ❓
WHY
did President Trump make changes; raise ‘standards, during his first term?
🚫-WHY did Obiden administration
cancel what President Trump did????
He is infuriated and intolerant of incompetence.
That’s what I think as well. He hates that this occurred and people died. He also hates the obsession of the left focused on Social Justice, DEI, and acceptance of mediocrity in our society to satisfy their ideologies.
I think President Trump is highly focused on results and accountability. I think this is who he is as a person, way before he entered politics. I think this is why he is furious that anyone would push DEI programs into jobs that require significant skills.
IMHO
But blaming DEI in this particular accident hasn’t been proven.
He has an itchy trigger and is giving his enemies unneeded ammunition.
Yes, raise standards. Yes, recruit new ATC, complete audit of systems, facilities and current ATC.
What you say is true. I do think President Trump feels very strongly that this tragedy should not have occurred. Someone or some people made mistakes and 60+ people died. He also said the helicopter should have never been close to the plane.
I also feel he believes the acceptance of mediocrity for the sake of ideologies is destroying the effectiveness of our institutions and that was a general message. You could tell he was pissed that the Biden administration removed his directives to improve air traffic control hiring the highest capable people vs hiring DEI people. So he made that point. Rightly or wrongly depending on your views.
JMO
President Trump has access to more details about it than we do.
Liking – at least 1,000 virtual likes!
He will always seem off to you, which speaks volumes about you.
A massive part of the problem problem over the last 10 years with the bureaucracy has been a lack of accountability.
And this is the type of epic catastrophe that happens. Wars start, planes crash, millions die, and we skate over the fact that someone is to blame.
A big part of what went wrong, is the WHO.
Lol! Off? Run for President! RIP innocents…
Yes. Rest in peace.
Horrible crash.
President Trump is not an aeronautical investigator. It is a result of Biden’s policies.
Actually he’s just stating the facts and you know he’s earn the right to call out the lame Democrats
Wrong! The FAA has been run into the ground for decades. The Biden regime DEI policy wanted to hire air traffic controllers with disabilities, one example epilepsy (seizures).
I don’t love Trump. I voted for him to do his job and be honest with the American people.
We don’t need a 6 month long ‘investigation” into this crash just so the FAA can cover up their misdeeds.
I don’t think Trump will give them that long.
He didn’t seem off to me. He seemed very angry, sad, and very much in control of his emotions. He did seem to convey that the fault was both on air traffic control and the black hawk rather than the commercial jet, but they won’t know exactly until the investigation concludes. He further explained that if we do not hire for Excellence, rather than Equity, things like this happen. And the Biden Administration was all about Equity, which has threatened our national security.
Also, I believe there were Russian citizens on that plane and that makes this an international incident at a critical time.
He said Biden put a new rule telling FAA to seek and hire people suffering mental deficiencies, psychological and physical problems, including for air traffic controllers – President Trump is right to be angry!!!
I didn’t get that sense at all. And a lot of our DEI dysfunction IS due to Biden’s policies. But President Trump spoke about merit and the best and brightest for certain jobs. He spoke a lot about the importance and need for qualifications. President Trump did say that Biden undid what good executive actions the Trump administration had done the first term. But I think given the context, and the importance of hiring under a merit based system, President Trump’s remarks were appropriate and on topic. BTW – did you watch the WHOLE presser? The first thing President Trump mentioned was condolences to the families and assurances to them about investigation. He DID have sympathy for the families.
Listening, my guess, air traffic control was the ones who messed up.
I’m sure he has strong and direct evidence. But let’s wait for the media to try to contradict Trump and let him release the truth.
The left has an allergy to the truth but so far it hasn’t been a fatal allergy….
The left is incapable of comprehending or understanding facts or truths … therefore they regurgitate talking points – based on their feelings – to direct the narrative … then President Trump slams them with FACTS and exposes their disastrous decisions and lies.
Or in this case … the MURDER of nearly 60+ innocent people.
Two comm frequencies, a change of runway and a question vs direct with split second to act, terrible result. RIP to all lost.
Very tragic. Very sad.
I doubt it. I could see the AA flight clearly in the video and the helo flew right into it.
Yes
It’s usually a series of mistakes in an air disaster. Trump sternly outlined two of them, i.e., controllers and pilots until more facts emerge.
**Helo pilots.
After reading details of the absurd FAA policy of disability inclusions (blind, deaf, psychiatric issues) & how it’ll make it safer… he says “I don’t think so.” 🤣🤣
Damn, this is hard. G-d bless their souls and may G-d comfort their families.
Blackhawk down…..
Reagan National Airport Black Hawk-CRJ crash
Note about the author:
Quotes:
For those who aren’t regular readers of this blog: I’m an FAA-certificated helicopter instructor as well as a former CRJ pilot for a Delta Airlines subsidiary. Landing and taking off at DCA were part of the Delta job. I have never flown a Black Hawk, but I have trained experienced Army Black Hawk pilots to fly the Robinson R44. I have spent hundreds of hours in Class B airspace, the same kind of airspace that surrounds DCA, in helicopters while airliners were landing at Boston’s Logan Airport (it was very rare for us to need to cross the final approach course, for the jets, though; we typically avoided airliners by flying over the top of the airport at 1,500′ or above or by staying as low as 300′ above the ground when underneath the final approach course to an active runway).
Author’s blog report:
https://philip.greenspun.com/blog/2025/01/29/reagan-national-airport-blackhawk-crj-crash/
FAA DEI hiring:
A trial set for summer 2025 will determine the truth of allegations already found plausible by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The final ruling should be seen as an opportunity to send a message to future administrations that race-based hiring is unacceptable, especially when it sets the stage for disaster.
FAA turned away qualified air traffic controllers based solely on race
A class-action lawsuit by the Mountain States Legal Foundation has amassed a trove of documents shedding new light on an Obama-era Federal Aviation Administration initiative that rejected prospective air traffic controllers based solely on their race.
A 2013 FAA document, “Controller Hiring by the Numbers,” raised the issue in stark terms, asking, “How much of a change in job performance is acceptable to achieve what diversity goals?”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/feb/1/editorial-faa-turned-away-qualified-air-traffic-co/
Hearing from spouse about the personnel in the Operating room not knowing how to put on an EKG lead or a BP cuff because of DEI policies, have no doubt about the ATC, especially in the DC area.
The worst is when the surgical team nurse can’t get an IV line started and runs out of available spots before bothering to ask for assistance! One of them actually said it would have been easier if I had drunk a lot of water before arriving. I told her I didn’t want to aspirate, lol! Where do they find these people? And no, she wasn’t DEI. Just some young lady right out of nursing school.
You’re nicer than I am. I give them 2 chances at an IV, then demand another technician if they want to try again. I am not a pincushion.
Two attempts used to be the standard.
Also, what influences the success of an IV start is the quality of the product one is using.
Lowest bidder wins the prize every time.
Nursing has lost any autonomy, it used to be products were ‘tested’ by the hospital’s nurses who gave input on the use of a potential product and the hospital listened to the nurses about ease of use etc. Today, its this is what you get to use based on bean counter input.
🤣
Oh my God that’s scary. I hope your spouse isn’t talking about the doctors as well.
If so, their goes our healthcare system.
So far not the doctors, however the surgeons demand things get started before all of the positioning, suction , monitor and IV lines are secured. Stubborn spouse refuses to listen to them and makes sure things are functioning properly before starting. And the IV situations are a disaster! Infiltrated, or too small bore of a needle and the lines wrapped around stretcher handles, behinds patients heads etc. etc.
My state ranks 48th in health care. I had out patient surgery Tuesday. I reminded my Daughter to not forget my ‘bodybag’ as we left that morning. (I’m retired Nurse & Respiratory Therapist)😞
Hope you’re recovering nicely Diceanna! ❤️
Better than I expected. Thank you💞
The majority of young and DEI nurses are TERRIBLE!!!
Remind me to not fly on a plane or have surgery. This is a terrible tragedy. Totally avoidable. With my tin hat securely on; we may be still at war with dark forces. (Hope I’m wrong) I question everything from govt & media. Prayers for the families of those lives lost. This is a most difficult time. The truth of this tragedy will eventually come out…if they allow it.
I believe it.
After reading greenspun’s assessment, I believe one of the most plausible explanations is that when ATC asked the helo pilot if he saw the commuter jet and if he answered affirmative, perhaps he was looking at the wrong jet in that busy airspace.
President Trump, please let others do their jobs before you do yours.
He is damned if he does or damned if he doesn’t with a lot you.
@tax2much WTH are you talking about????
Your concern is duly noted
Who are you?
Why ?
Democrats blamed President Trump for eggs his 1st week (because Biden ordered the slaughter of 100Million chickens) … and now blame him for a plane disaster his 2nd week (because Biden DEI has filled all government agencies with the worst of the worst.
Obviously you embrace the demonRAT strategy: Destroy the Country and blame Trump for your destruction.
Let PDJT do his job as he sees it before you do yours, when you are voted pres you can do it your way.
That sounds a lot like “leading from behind.”
It also sounds like a terrible idea.
I can’t find it now but I read a transcript, Think it was on X, Of a guy who had listened to the audio, And he said you could hear a change in the voice by the air traffic Controller just Before the crash when they realized they had f**ked up.
An interesting question might be “WHO was on that plane?”
Exactly
Runway 33 (freemasonry number) is what strikes me as suspicious. These assholes always seem to find a way to project secretively something they are involved with. Once you know the FM lingo and numerology Things jump out at you.
I can’t shake the strong feeling that somebody wanted someone on one of those 2 aircraft killed.
The helo was flying dark. The ADS-B signal which airline collision-avoidance systems use to alert pilots of potential midair threats was turned off in the helo.
This is like driving the wrong way on the interstate with your lights turned off. Intentional…
Is this 2022 link relevant, about the first flights of unmanned Blackhawks?
https://defensescoop.com/2024/10/14/darpa-sikorsky-black-hawk-autonomous-flight-award/
Why would the helo be doing that?
I was watching Live from Studio 6B when Rick Delgado reported the breaking news of the collision. The depth of my skepticism surfaced pretty quickly and I said to my husband, “I want to know who was flying that helicopter & I want to know who was on that plane.” I was stunned a few moments ago when PDJT confirmed that there were as yet unspecified & unidentified foreign nationals on that flight. I want my skepticism to be completely unwarranted.
I heard Russians were on the aircraft flight.
Skating team members?
Russian were the skater’s coaches.
White foreign nationals.
Part of the skaters. Mom and Dad were American citizens but were Olympic skaters -1994-from Russia who were at the skating event in Kansas with their son who skates for the USA.
There’s ADS-B data for PAT25.
https://www.airnavradar.com/data/flights/PAT25
The airliner’s TCAS would have been screaming and pointing to the pending collision object, along with a CLIMB! command to avoid the collision. Too close to the ground for a DIVE command. This was intentional, the turn by the helo was too quick TOWARD the highly lit airliner.
How do you know that? Was it announced in some official info released? I did not see this anywhere.
The helicopter was not darkship. Its lights are clearly visible in the video.
Biden was admitted to the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge shortly before leaving office.
Why does Kaitlin Collins , Hagerman and the gal who doesn’t look like she wears a shirt under her blazer get the frown row for every press conference?
The seats are assigned by outlet. Maybe it will change but the last time they tried to make adjustments the press corp union threw a hissy fit.
It’s more so that the seats are assigned by hissy fitters.
hey if it was the other way around you know biden/obama and the dems would blame trump.heck i think i even heard someone in the media blamed trump already for this crash.
The media is going wild and Trump is going strong .
Trump blames DEI for all of the death and destruction. I’m 100% certain he wouldn’t say this if he didn’t have evidence. But the left is going to lose its collective(-ist) mind over this.
They will take the bait. He knows more but is releasing it slowly. Stable Genius. Common sense.
I posted above, but this video is an excellent explanation of what happened. The helo was in the wrong, I’m confident that will hold. After watching this factual explanation of the approach the CRJ was taking and where the helo came from there is no other conclusion.
This guy is pretty good. More recent information is coming out that the air traffic controller did not proper and accurate information. The helicopter pilot communicated for the pilot to put eyes on a plane without enough detail about which plane. The pilot acknowledge the plane in front of him but did not know the plane ATC was talking about was to the pilot’s left.
This is the likely basis for Trump’s statements related to unqualified people operating in air traffic control. And under Booty-gag’s leadership, qualified people were lost or denied employment in favor of additional representation in the ATC centers.
Sadly, the scumbags behind this can edit all the data flight tracks unless you were watching flightraradar24 in real time. Looks like RT, the Russians, were and hopefully will show it. Anybody who has been near an airport during landing operations knows how bright the landing aircraft lights are. This was intentional.
The post below your original had a detailed explanation to add to this from a former dc controller I believe. Both posts are very rational explanations. We have to wait and see what the official ones are though. Everything right now on our part is pure speculation.
Good for the left. They have been asleep for four years.
He already showed me enough evidence when he read me the FAA DEI hiring guidelines which basically said they want to hire a lot of intellectually defective folks. Apparently they were successful.
A good presser
Texting while flying is not a crime in the US Army.
HUH?
Look at the blackhawks flight path. Looks like a texting driver zig zaging down the road crossing into oncoming traffic. Or maybe watching Porn?
https://www.americanairportguide.com/dca/airport-statistics.htm
24000+ flights in and out of Reagan last month. That’s a little more than one every two minutes. The Blackhawk flights, evidently, frequently cross the flight paths of the airliners. Seems like a real life game of Frogger to me.
What about as an ATC ?
DEI hire? what about the copter pilot?
At this moment, let’s don’t beat a dead horse meaning the 3 copter pilots are deceased. Air traffic controllers are to feel the heat for now.
Last Radio from Army Helicopter | Mid-Air Crash with American Airlines CRJ-700
Audio of MID-AIR CRASH into Potomac River | Regional Jet and Black Hawk Helicopter
Potomac Mid Air Collision DCA 1/29/25
Thank you! Excellent info. So many things went wrong.
Retired Magistrate here: It would have taken months for the previous administration to even address the in air collision let alone have a press conference with the President, Vice President, Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Defense in attendance.
A new day has dawned.
I doubt if Bribem would even know about it for months..
Remember the TWA mid-air explosion during the Clinton destruction? … nearly 5 yrs after … the decided lie, I mean, cause … an overheated gas-tank exploded – at night – over water – off the east coast.
FUNKER530 on X: “The helo involved in the collision with flight 5342 is reported to be a US Army VH-60 “Gold Top”, identified as PAT25, a photo of which is below (example, not actual). PAT is an acronym for Priority Air Transport. Alpha Company of the 12th Aviation Battalion out of Fort Belvoir https://t.co/44L878VAm4” / X
“Alpha Company of the 12th Aviation Battalion out of Fort Belvoir are their operators, whose primary mission is VIP transport of high-level DoD officials.”
As others say above, it is strange the helo crew (a) did not acknowledge the Tower warning of an aircraft on approach and (b) crossed into the approach zone in the first place.
If that X post is correct, this means that that helo could have easily been carrying Hegseth or any of his colleagues from DoD.
Coming in the context of Millie being placed under investigation, one wonders if there’s a connection.
Exactly. I don’t believe in coincidences
Doubt if anyone important was on board.
12th Aviation Division was involved in the big Nuclear War drill going on on the East Coast. They were most likely practicing transporting important government officials. Flying around bored, not paying attention.
SNAFU
“Doubt anyone important was on board.” No they weren’t, perhaps it was a warning. As for flying round bored not paying attention, the crew would have one assumes been extremely well trained and competent, DEI would almost certainly not apply to crews in this particular unit. After all, if you’re Lloyd Austin, are you seriously going to place your own life in the hands of a DEI hire? That’s for the plebs, not for the people at the top.
This was a trainin drill. Who knows what people were flying the Blackhawk or even if they were compentent?
How in the world do you fly directly into an airliner with all landing lights on in busy air space.
The pilots head should have been on a swivel instead of looking at their I phones.
You cant really blame Air Traffic control. The helo’s Transponder was off. ATC would get no info in the helo’s altitude, speed, ID, direction ect. All they knew that there was a Blackhawk out there somewhere in the vicinity of the landing plane. Hence the question. Do you see the approaching Jet liner?
Duhhhh What jet lin……………..
I mentioned the same possibility – IPhone? Texting?
Questions:
– are pilots and crew allowed to access smartphones while flying?
– can we BAN SMARTPHONES from military aircraft and cockpits?
The videos by sync above indicates
1)aircraft were on different frequencies and
2)airplane was asked to change runways (wonder if orig. runway would’ve averted this though they were close)
3) there was possibility helo was looking at the other plane in vicinity
and they ran into right side of plane (likely dark) and would not have seen planes headlight we are all seeing from videos. ( I do wonder if cabin lights were on though)
4) the last video by sync says alarms don’t work below 1000’
5) many other things possibly going wrong last night too which at this point we have no facts
Look who was guarding POTUS at Butler.
Yeah but that was Trump, who they wanted to kill. They wouldn’t let DEI get near any of THEM, was the point I was making. And Trump of course, is not one of THEM, is he. Precise opposite as a matter of fact. So hardly surprising his detail at Butler was mostly DEI, was it.
I’m sure they were important to someone.
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As I said, SOMETHING IF FISHY – it can’t be a coincidence that this happens at this time. Why hasn’t it happened before?
I have flown both military and civilian for years. I was always told the pilot in command has the final say and responsibility. In other words the pilot can overrule the controller at anytime and I have done just that.
My question is why and what is a training flight doing flying over the approach end of a runway and I mean any runway? So far, I see it as gross pilot error by the command pilot of the helicopter.
I don’t care if they have a monkey in the control tower. My responsibility as pilot in command is to maintain safe flight integrity at all times.
This video explains it. It shows the approach for the CRJ and points out the approved cut through path helos from the base. It looks the helo was coming from the side/rear of the CRJ and may have confused which aircraft they “spotted” albeit a ways away. The helo would not have seen the CRJ landing lights from the angle.
What are military aircraft doing sharing air space with commercial passenger flights? The helo training operations I’ve witnessed (Camp Pendelton, and Wheeler AFB), they take off, circle and land…over and over, in very remote areas. Helicopters are not allowed to fly in commercial air space over LAX. This is why criminals on high-speed pursuits head for the airport knowing the helicopters can’t pursue them.
A RC helicopter (drone) can be purchased from a hobby shop. I suppose they full scale models. Coincidence that drones have been in the news lately.
hmmm
With all due respect, serious question? What would you do if ATC doesn’t tell you that another plane is in your path right before you land?
It is why the pilot constantly scans the sky up and down before him. I have landed at tons of airports without ATC. I don’t wait for someone tell me there is an airplane in my way.
In this case if I was the helicopter and seen the airliner in front of me. I would had taken evasive action. Then I would had said to myself; “What a dumb-ass I am flying over the approach end of a runway at a very busy airport.
I guess my final comment to myself would be; “Thank God, I cheated death once again”.
Huge Trump MAGA fan but there are times where he should not talk, only send out press release. He can’t help himself and will bring up unnecessary subjects which will only trigger media firestorm.
Oh well, God bless the victims and their families is all that matters.
Spot on.
“ Huge Trump MAGA fan … but”.
Could be by design. He has been flooding the news cycle since inauguration. The media is having trouble keeping up…. even moreso as the media continues to fire people because they are losing money.
Were you paying attention his first term? Same thing. it’s just the way he rolls and there’s usually a reason for how he says things and what he says..
He did it on purpose, thats his MO, he throws the cat among the pigeons and triggers a firestorm. That produces attention to the subject and what at first might appear to be an absurd, inappropriate or irrelevant comment almost always proves to have a serious, relevant and factual basis: Obama is wiretapping me, Nato members not paying their fare share, perhaps I’ll take back panama canal, I think Ill buy greenland: all of those upon attention and research were highly relevant, got everyones attention and resulted in action from the other side.
asking a moment of silence for the victims was the first thing he did
He does it is way, when I am president I will do it my way…… his way actually works in the big picture.
DCA is the busiest airport in the country – volume/sq mile. The pressure to move traffic is immense, because jams occur quickly unless flow is constant.
I think two things happened at the same time:
1). The controller lost comprehensive SA (situational awareness) of the developing conflict.
2). The helo pilot *likely* (not for sure) saw and called the wrong traffic “in sight”, seeing approaching traffic to Rwy 1 rather than the imminent collision to rwy 33.
“Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous but like the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity, or neglect” (famous aviation saying).
There is little margin for error in aviation. There is zero room for anything other than the highest standards, merit and flight discipline to ensure these moments of fatal alignment don’t happen again.
How did the helicopter pilot NOT see the great big plane – right in front of him for 15 – or more – seconds ??!!!
he/she/it did not even flinch !!!
A quick straight up – or straight down – or sharp right move would likely have missed the passenger plane.
It wasn’t straight in front of him (until impact); it appears AA was initially left of his field of vision, moving right … straight ahead of him was straight in landing traffic to rwy 1.
Especially if he was wearing night vision goggles which takes out peripheral vision, he would have only seen the RJ traffic if he looked directly to his left.
Also, I doubt he was expecting the called traffic to be that close … expectation bias might have had him clearing further away rather than 5 seconds from impact.
The main problem (imo) – loss of situational awareness (sa) by both pilot (esp) and controller at a critical moment.
“The helo pilot *likely* (not for sure) saw and called the wrong traffic “in sight”, seeing approaching traffic to Rwy 1 rather than the imminent collision to rwy 33.”
If you watch the 7:40 minute video just above your post he shows the other runway traffic was departing, not landing, and would be way to far to the right of the helo to be of any concern. It’s near the end of the video.
At 2 + 21 in the attached ATC recording, AA 1630 is “cleared for immediate takeoff, traffic on short final”; AA 3130 is on short final; ~ 5 seconds to RJ/helo impact.
Helo saw AA 3130 on short final … I’m almost sure of it.
Forgot the ATC link
My daughter is a figure skater. We are part of a small close knit community. We were not involved, but it has impacted our lives nonetheless. Prayers for all involved and everyone affected. I can’t begin to understand what the families are going through or where they go from here. My God grant them His peace and may His Spirit comfort them. God bless the rescue and recovery teams that went into the icy waters last night.
Thank you for your post. …my daughters are also figure skaters and knew Spencer, a talented and inspirational young man. He was a joy to watch skate. He was ebulliant. His parents were so supportive.
This is devastating. Praying for all affected.
See my comment above.
It is normal to query as this controller did … IF there is no imminent conflict. The pilot *stated* “traffic in sight” which relieved the controller of the primary burden of separation … it becomes the pilot’s responsibility who called the traffic.
It needs to be remembered that DCA traffic patterns are unlike any other traffic patterns in the country … very complex and congested. The helicopter traffic is normal, where he was, IF he was doing what he said he was doing.
Two separate and major mistakes happened (IMO) as I stated above. But the biggest mistake was on the helo pilot who called “traffic in sight” without *having* the correct conflicting traffic actually in sight.
The way I hear it, the pilot was not informed WHERE to look. The pilot saw A PLANE in front of him and thus assumed this was the plan ATC was talking about. This would have distracted the pilot from the plan on his left.
The proper response (unless total certainty) is “searching”, not “in sight”. This keeps the controller in the loop.
I’m waiting to find out who was on that plane.
There were athletes from US Skating on the plane returning from an event in Wichita. Married Russian athletes were their coaches, the coaches’ son, and their American students. They’ve been in the country here a few years coaching our US team.
White immigrants. The most discriminated group in the country by the swamp by far. And nobody knows.
check website……whatdoesitmean.com
Again Reagan Airport is very close to very important Executive Residences
I used to fly into DC many years ago and my husband would not let me fly into Reagan. Said it was too busy therefore too dangerous for the location. I flew into Dulles.
And the approach to the runway the CRJ was landing on is tasking. You approach runway 1 and then do a sidestep maneuver to land on runway 33. The helo base is just across the river and they have an approved “cut through” path. Seems like statistically it was bound to happen.
33 is a very normal and expected landing runway at DCA for *regional* (RJ) and small airplane traffic.
DEI = die.
I’m not buying that this was an “accident” tin foil hat or not, there is an element of people right now who are absolutely desperate to retain what they’re losing with Trump in the White House and will do anything to get it back. As unfortunate as it is, these people do not value other human life other than their own. Eyes open and serious accountability is the path forward. I expect firings and restructuring.
You’re not the only one. We’re seeing a lot of sudden incompetence when it comes to executing Trump’s orders, such as Native Americans somehow getting deported and cancer research funded by the government shut down. Absolutely Marxian tactics. If only Trump would hire willing people…
link: Ace of Spades HQ
January 27, 2025
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (Eat It, Bitch McConnell) Reverses Insubordinate Malicious Compliance from Woke Air Force Official
“”Malicious compliance” is a noted pathology in the workplace and in the military (where I think the term originated). The term describes the tactic used by insubordinate or just malevolent underlings who deliberately pervert the plain meaning of an order either because they don’t like the order or just want to harm the organization that pays them, but don’t want to risk open insubordination. They give the order a twisted “interpretation” in order to make the organization look bad and to create a backlash against the order and the person giving the order.
A “former intel officer” posted advice in how to engage in illegal insubordination against the duly-elected chief executive, instructing military personnel to violate the Commander-in-Chief’s orders while “leaving no trace.”
She calls malicious compliance “strategic interpretation.”
All of these tactics are just cause for firing.
The Air Force just did this with respect to Trump’s order to end DEI cult teachings in the government. The Air Force engaged in malicious compliance to embarrass Trump and force him to keep DEI by claiming that the order meant that the Air Force could no longer teach about the Tuskegee Airmen.
Ron DeSantis noted that that’s what insubordinate officials did in Florida when he instructed schools to stop teaching kindergarteners about sex and “gender.” The officials began banning classics like Little Women, claiming that that’s how they read the order.
Then they immediately called a reporter to tell them about their own decision to ban Little Women, shrieking, “Look at this outrage! Ron DeSantis forced me to censor Little Women! Won’t someone think of the children!”
Pete Hegseth has now reversed this malicious compliance insubordination.
But that’s not enough. The people involved need to be fired. We only have four years of Trump, and we cannot have every single order subverted, undermined, and twisted by hardcore partisan staffers in government — especially in our military.
Firings, and maybe mass-firings, are necessary.” …….
‘maybe mass firings’ replace with ‘military tribunals’ Fixed it.
“The people involved need to be fired.”
exactly, and wherever relevant they need to be prosecuted. This is how credibility is restored to failed institutions.
Who was on the plan?
I religiously watch the series Smithsonian Channel’s Air Disasters. I remember an episode where a helicopter was involved in a mid air crash. Turns out they have blind spots.
That’s why there are 2 pilots…. if they are looking. If indeed the helo was being ‘flown’ by humans.
Duffy and Pete are off to a bang of a start. So sorry for everyone involved from every which way, it is a terrible tragedy.
SHUT UP !!!
They are both in their 1st week … everything they have taken over is broken … this is 100% Biden/Milley INTERNATIONAL destruction.
So many trolls on this thread.
We see you.
Have seen several comments about the Helicopter being part of some sort of “training” (as in Exercise or Flight Training).
OK fine … but LOGICALLY who plans to place an active International Airport’s airspace inside a “training exercise” or “flight training plan” … at NIGHT with no Active Transponder, COMMS Obviously OFF or even Marker Lights ???
My direct experience with Army Aviation and pilots in general is that they were uber safety conscious. This does not pass the smell test for a micro-second.
Still not convinced this was some “DEI oops” or accident…still deliberate in my mind.
Somebody was on that plane.
Anyone else noticing weaponized incompetence as of late when it comes to Trump’s orders?
Unless tou are willing to restrict all other air flight around major airports this will happen again.
Elon Musk from two weeks ago.
“Targeted disabilities are those disabilities that the Federal government, as a matter of policy, has identified for special emphasis in recruitment and hiring,” the FAA’s website states. “They include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism.” […]
.
I am horrified, nauseous, and heartsick.
Army helo pilots are trained to fly unaided under the most atrocious conditions, including under fire, on rescue missions, and in horrendous terrain and weather. Aside from the periodic problem of machine failures (apparently not applicable here), or the occasional tragedies with beginning pilots, especially the very difficult Apaches (apparently not applicable here), these pilots are (or at least have been) the best-trained pilots in the world.
Did this 0stensibly experienced chopper pilot get lackadaisical on a routine-ish flight and just rely on the air traffic controllers? Was the pilot someone who should not have been flying? Was it FAA DEI? Inexplicable. My first thought was… another suddenly “radicalized” “nice” terrorist… we’ve had a few of those incidents lately…
.
Or electronic hack?
For clarity from my very experienced pilot husband (25 year major airline captain and 30 years in the Air Force (some in reserves)). He has flown into DCA many dozens of times. 01 is the preferred runway for the flight conditions of last night. The AA aircraft was set up for the approach to that runway. It is possible that the aircraft departing runway 01 (which you can see in the video) was slow to start the departure. Or something else happened to cause a slight delay in departure.
This would leave ATC with the option of asking AA to go-around (getting too close) or change to runway 33 to maintain required spacing. It appears what ATC did was ask the pilot to re-configure and land runway 33. The AA pilot acknowledged that he/she could take runway 33.
This may have been the fatal mistake. It would take a lot of experience to quickly make that transition. Not impossible though. Just an all hands on deck scenario. Important to remember that pilots can deny those kind of ATC requests if it is not a comfortable situation for them. Seems like someone forgot about the helicopter and that crew may not have been paying enough attention to ATC.
It is all so sad and so avoidable and there will likely plenty of blame to go around.
Best to wait for all evidence. It will likely be a complicated investigation.
Prayers for all
They have to get it “right” due to the massive number of insurance claims and law suits that will be pending.
This is a very strange situation. After watching the various radar tracks of the plane and the helicopter it seems virtually impossible that the helicopter pilot could not see the jet which was right in front of it. I can’t imagine the helicopter pilot could not see it, given the full landing lights were on, landing gear was down, etc. But he flew right into it anyway. Hard to believe.
I’ll withhold judgment until more information becomes available, but if this really was an accident and not intentional the level of incompetence to allow this to occur is off the charts. We are probably not done learning more about this very unfortunate incident.
U.S. defense secretary on D.C. air collision
( 4 min 58 )
Trump asked the question why were the two flying at the same attitude
The airplane had already assumed a landing pattern most likely given by the tower.
Something awful happened.
Other than that, we don’t know anything else.
Lots of speculating, not much in the way of facts.
I’m bidding my time waiting for the investigations to give the preliminary reports.
A year ago a Marine Helicopter left Arizona with five Marines on board. Three officers and two enlisted. The helicopter flew West into the mouth of a horrific snow storm in the Sierra Mountains that was predicted as the “STORM OF THE CENTURY” with 100 mph wind and blinding snow.
The helicopter crashed in the mountains less than a hundred miles away from it’s San Diego base and five families lost their husbands and fathers for absolutely no reason! They could have waited one day for the storm to pass and they would all be alive today. Why didn’t they?
With all the airspace to practice night flying in Northern Virginia why are you flying over one of the busiest airports in the country within a short distance of the White House!
Exactly!
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I suspect that they weren’t just “practicing night flying”.
.
Why? It could have been a new pilot to the area getting a familiarization flight. The only way to practice and become proficient in that airspace it to practice in that airspace.
IMHO, for those really interested in the backstory/ how aviation works in this situation, please view:
Juan is extremely adept at providing all the relevant information. Far better than anything on the “news”.
This article contains a comment (about half way through, big screen shot in a grayed box) from an 8 year veteran air traffic controller in DC.
Good to have experienced perspective.
Noted communication errors on the part of the tower that make sense, and would support PT’s comments.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/small-plane-crashes-near-reagan-national-airport-after-fiery-explosion-caught-camera
Very suspicious….per George Webb:
https://georgewebb.substack.com/p/american-air-collision-like-a-bad?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=674856&post_id=156094851&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=kmf72&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Maybe the helicopter pilot was a terrorist.
Or was it a dronecopter….
It is sad. He had the Vegas shooting. Now we have this.
It’s such a treat looking thru that room and seeing so many of the legacy dimwits struggling to be recognized so they can ask their stupid questions!
American and Russian skaters? Has anyone looked into the whereabouts of Tonya Harding?
Really?
Agree, not appropriate.