Posted on 02/01/2025 6:50:28 AM PST by airdalechief
The Army announced Friday that at the request of the female pilot’s family, it is withholding the name of one of three Black Hawk helicopter crew members killed in the mid-air collision with a passenger plane over the Potomac River while the plane was on final approach Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., Wednesday night. The Army said the name “will not be released at this time”, leaving open the possibility of later public identification.
(Excerpt) Read more at thegatewaypundit.com ...
“I’m sure that Hegseth and Trump will be transparent after they find out.”
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This frustrating “hide the name” fiasco makes it look like Hegseth and Trump are not in control. Like others are calling the shots.
I mentioned two days ago, this could have been a suicide.
This was possibly a tranny pilot that was not happy with Trump’s new policies towards DEI.
It would make sense why Hegseth and Trump are waiting for the time being.
Ann Coulter is right regarding this. The longer they wait, we are 🤔.
It's a tragedy. But it appears that we have lowered our standards in the military and this is where we are.
Seems like DCA is a mess. But we got away with it because the standards were higher in the military back then. And there were more restrictions on the airport.
But now every Representative is able to fly home from DCA to his district for the weekend. It didn't used to be that way. They would have to drive to either Dulles or Baltimore.
Note how quickly we were informed about the pilots’ ‘extensive’ flight hours? The Army was quick to release that info. Some kind of game is being played here.
DCA is often referred to as “Congressional Airport”.
I’m sure those at the top know, and many top Democrats would know as well.
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You can be damn sure Trump knows. That’s why he saying the things he’s saying. Enough is enough of crazy DEI when it gets people killed.
She flew the helicopter inexplicably and impossibly straight into a passenger jet. Unless there’s a catastrophic failure black box reveals or she had controls and is totally responsible with the other pilot and crew chief blamed for not looking out.
They’re setting up a narrative attempting to defend the pilot. I’m pretty confident at this point the pilot was a tranny and was probably very angry at Trump’s policies towards DEI. I could be wrong, we’ll see.
*The single-greatest error in this accident was the decision to fly without a second Crew Chief on the left-hand side of the Blackhawk, who could have provided an extra set of eyes to “look out-and-up” to see the approaching American Airlines Passenger plane.
*Night Vision Goggle (NVG) flights result in a sort-of “tunnel vision” for all who wear the NVGs and normal policy in many Army flight units is to force a full crew of 2 pilots and 2 crew chiefs for all NVG flights, so that you always have “eyes out” to both sides of the aircraft, when flying in those conditions. While not mandatory, it is the proper safety call, especially when flying in the vicinity of a busy, major airport such as Reagan Airport (DCA). No matter how competent the pilots and Crew Chiefs may be, this flight needed a second Crew Chief on the left side of the chopper.
*The front-left pilot, even if not wearing Night Vision Goggles, would still have limited visibility out the left door, and if that pilot is busy with radio calls, or referencing the map/GPS, that pilot could get consumed by work inside the cockpit, instead of looking out and around.
*Flight Unit Leadership failed to recognize the need for a second Crew Chief in the Mission Planning and Risk Assessment Process. This is where either incompetence, or DEI (or both), may have come into play. This was certainly poor leadership.
*Known mistakes by the Blackhawk Flight Crew point to a lack of experience and/or competence. We’ve heard in the media that both pilots were “experienced.” This is just not true. Someone is “blowing smoke” to the media, to President Trump, and to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to “cover their ass.” The collective level of experience of the pilots was not impressive. Their level of experience is like comparing a rookie in the NFL to a second-year player. The pilot had the experience of a second-year player, while the co-pilot was a rookie. This was NOT an experienced crew to be flying at night, near a major airport, without a second crew chief.
*Radio calls were not responded to by the Blackhawk crew, and they flew at 350 Feet above ground level (AGL), whereas reports say they were supposed to fly at 200 Feet AGL. These two mistakes alone show that the crew were not as experienced or professional as reported to President Trump, Defense Secretary Hegseth, or the media.
*The Instructor Pilot may have been too inexperienced for this “Annual Evaluation” flight, as mistakes were clearly made during the course of the flight (that are assumed to have been made by the junior pilot being evaluated). Why didn’t the Instructor Pilot notice they were flying too high and off course? That points to his lack of experience. If there had been a second Crew Chief, he could have noticed these mistakes and warned the pilots.
*The Flight Unit Commanders must share the blame, and they’re still alive! There is a 12th Aviation Battalion commander of that B Company, and I don’t know who that is, but this individual was the first leader in the chain of events for the Mission Plan and Risk Assessment to get signed off and approved. This B Company commander should be asked why they did not enforce a second Crew Chief to be on that flight.
*Accident sequences for these types of accidents begin in “Mission Planning,” when first selecting the time you will fly, where you will fly for the Annual Evaluation, and what crew members will be on the flight. Any of the Leaders in that unit’s Chain of Command could have demanded that this flight have two Crew Chiefs aboard the aircraft, due to NVG flying conditions, plus the busy airspace of Reagan airport.
*An experienced, thoughtful leader knows when to “raise the standard” and force the mission to have that second Crew Chief aboard the aircraft. This was clearly one of those moments, and both the B Company Commander and the 12th Aviation Battalion Commander failed to see through this risk problem and impose their own “Risk Reduction” to include a second Crew Chief to manage the left-hand side of the Blackhawk.
*In my opinion, even with all these mistakes that were made, a Crew Chief on the left side of the Blackhawk would still have saved them in that last 20 seconds when that American Airlines flight was approaching on the left-hand side. A Crew Chief in that seat would have warned the pilots to turn and descend immediately.
This accident was completely avoidable. Thank you to my friend Colonel Joe for this thoughtful analysis.
You’re likely right.
Hegseth doesn’t seem to be commanding much respect at this point. He needs to step up and assert his authority and tell people to stop playing games.
For the record, I will clarify, I think they’re setting up a narrative attempting to defend the pilot for some reason. I’m pretty confident at this point the pilot was a tranny and was probably very angry at Trump’s policies towards DEI, or a Muslim on a mission.
“Leaked by Monday”.
Agreed.
CC
The whole bit about withholding the name stinks. The name will be revealed or leaked anyway, and it won’t take much longer for that to happen.
The cover up or hiding things make it worse. Everyone knows that. Better to reveal it immediately.
She/he/it caused the crash that killed a lot of people.
This is another example of DEI. That person should have never been in the cockpit. Hiding the name makes this true.
If you wish to apologize for yourself, go right ahead. But don’t presume to speak for others unless you have the authority to do so. We are all foremost responsible for our own actions. It’s enough to deal with our own problems without assuming other peoples as well.
CC
This place has become a disgusting hotbed of conspiracy theorists. I say it was an accident.
The name will be leaked (directly or indirectly) either by someone in the flying unit, the mortuary, or friends, relatives or acquaintances at some point. It can’t be a secret forever.
Or “leaked” by someone who wants to make our side look bad.
“The name will be revealed or leaked anyway”
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Hard to believe that the media doesn’t know the name by now. They are very protective of DEI and the whole tranny thing so they’re likely sitting on the info rather than revealing it.
Their continued silence is telling.
“This is another example of DEI. That person should have never been in the cockpit. Hiding the name makes this true.”
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Maybe some DEI types are blocking the release of the name. It wouldn’t be surprising.
“Their continued silence is telling.”
The fact that they withheld the name from the beginning, while the other two names were released right away, is telling. It reeks of leftist policies that we now have to change and drag America away from....ie the censorship of “certain info”.
Let’s hope we’re now into an era of total transparency for a refreshing change. I think Trump can and will change the ability of a family to have the name of their loved one “withheld” for ANY reason going forward... because I can’t think of any good reason why it should happen. If anyone here can provide a valid reason why, please do tell.
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