Posted on 04/02/2025 10:16:32 AM PDT by george76
On Tuesday, in a meeting of the Senate Commerce Committee, the chair of that committee, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), had some sharp words for the U.S. Army regarding the January 29th collision of a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter with an American Airlines passenger jet near Reagan National Airport. The crash killed 67 people.
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Senator Cruz warned the Army:
I want to be explicit to the Army. Every one of us here supports a strong national defense, but the Army does not have at its option ignoring the United States Senate. And if there is another accident, it another Black Hawk helicopter strikes another passenger jet and murders 67 people, because the Army refused to change its policy of turning off its ADS-B out, and rather than act proactively to protect people's lives, the Army chose to protect its bureaucratic a**, those deaths will be on the Army's hands.
None of us want that to happen. The responsible decision for the Army to make is to provide that memo to this committee today. And again, if the Army continues to stonewall, they will face a subpoena from this committee.
The report in question details the Army's decision to forgo the use of the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast system, or ADS-B, during training operations around Reagan International Airport. The system transmits an aircraft's location, and the Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in the January 29th crash had its ADS-B system turned off.
An army Black Hawk helicopter did not have the system operating during a routine training mission when it collided with an American Airlines regional jet on January 29 near the airport, killing 67 people.
The army last week refused a request from senators for the memo.
Committee chair Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, and Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the panel, had demanded the army turn over the report by Friday.
Cruz said if the army continued to withhold the document, the committee planned to issue a subpoena.
"It begs the question, what doesn't the army want Congress and the American people to know about why it was flying partially blind?" Cruz said. "This is not acceptable."
In 2019, the Federal Aviation Administration exempted the military from using the ADS-B system in certain circumstances. Commercial passenger aircraft are required to have their ADS-B systems active while in flight.
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The FAA has since notified the Pentagon that ADS-B use is required near Reagan National Airport except in "active national security missions."
The concern here, of course, is the Army's hesitancy to turn over the memorandum Senator Cruz mentions. It seems, as Senator Cruz points out, that the Army is engaging in some stonewalling; there is something in that memo that they don't want publicized, which is all the more reason to drag it into the daylight. All of us on the political right want a strong national defense, as Senator Cruz also points out, but that in no way means the military branches shouldn't be held accountable when something goes badly wrong - such as what happened on January 29th.
The Army should hand over all of these materials to the Commerce Committee immediately.
I don’t think Ted Cruz is someone to play games with. Whatever it is they’re hiding is less serious than the act of hiding it.
The issue is the overwhelming stupidity of having a 'drill' that steers helicopters through a glideslope of a busy airspace at all. The notion of it being a drill to evacuate members of the Congress or Executive branch to a safe place after they would have started WW3, makes it even more stupid as a regularly scheduled activity. In the event of nuclear war, we should ensure that Congress gets nuked, maybe the Executive too. Because they caused it, they deserve to fry.
I guess if they focus on the ADS-B system, they can blame the catastrophe on some low rank flunkie.
The really culpable ones are the idiots who had the scheduled drill 'for decades' as I understand it. They would be high ranking officers. They are the culpable ones.
It’s always “the next time”....
The next time an Army helicopter crashes into a passenger jet.
The next time the Senate confirms a corrupt Marxist judge.
The next time Congress approves of an utterly wasteful billion dollar project.
The next time an Autopen is used to replace a brain-dead president.
The next time a career bankrobber robs a bank.
Its not a trivial issue. The accident would likely have been avoided if the pilots of the jetliner were aware of the Black Hawk in their glideslope.
As with all aviation accidents it's never one mistake its a cascade of errors that leads to tragedy.
Since they are covering it up, I’ll make my own assumptions
we put DEI types in command of aircraft in dangerous situations and they can’t handle it.
They put a pilot with below minimum hours in a command situation and they failed.
WE have standards for a reason!
You can call it racist or sexist all you want, but if a
pilot meets a very high standard they are generally
well qualified to command in challenging situations.
If women or some race can’t meet that standard, find another job for them. Not everybody is cut out to be “Top gun” or “Green Beret”.
Trump is head of the military. He can get the memo released in a day if he wants to.
Hope it happens
what went on recently in the control tower (FIGHTING) is evident of the people who are still working the tower, whether its DEI hires, handicapped and invalid hires, inexperienced hires. A complete review of these controllers needs to be done and assessment made and changes made as well
Like he could get the JFK files or the Epstein files released in a day?
More than one serious issue here and I doubt there will be accountability or significant changes to prevent this from happening again. Afterall, it’s government.
I agree with your assessment of Sen. Cruz, but I worry that his colleagues are benefiting from the aerial taxi service offered courtesy of Army aviation.
But zoom out, if you will, and see that there need NOT BE a series of scheduled flights in helicopters that goes right through the glide path of Runway 33 at DCA.
The flights should never have been ordered.
Furthermore, the AA plane was in a strictly defined glideslope. They were where they were supposed to be, plus or minus a few meters.
The helicopter entered that same airspace in a haphazard fashion, knowing (maybe) that it was the glideslope of Runway 33 at a busy time. That speaks for itself, in my book. (It was very stupid.)
The cascade you mention started, perhaps years ago, when some upper level officer who commands the helicopter squadron didn't review these standing orders to fly these unnecessary missions, and cancel them or move them somewhere else.
A barely qualified, politically connected lesbian, flying with the ADS-B turned off. And killed 67 people. The end.
Because the army wants to practice for the worthless mission of evacuating VIPs from DC. If America was lucky, any sneak attack would hit without DC having the slightest warning. That way we can at least plant some new cherry trees, power wash the monuments, and start over. If they get America news, we are at least get new leaders out of the deal.
You go, Ted! Give 'em hell, Ted! Because 67 deaths plus however many were on the helicopter is not enough to hold anyone accountable! But, another 67+ deaths, by golly, by gosh, that will be totally unacceptable and who knows what kind of grandstanding rhetoric might be necessary!
On circle to land from rwy01 you cannot assume the American Eagle aircraft switched to rwy33 ‘glideslope, if there is one. Do you know the difference between glideslope and glide path ?
I wish Sen. Cruz had not used the term “murders’.
-fJRoberts-
It’s always “the next time”....
**********
With Republicans it’s always rhetoric over results.
Hegseth needs to inform the Secretary of the Army about civilian control of the military. It’s disconcerting that a Republican administration is tolerating this kind of non-responsive attitude by the Army.
Army won’t mend its ways here unless forced.
They’ve been playing Army without adult supervision for so long they think the pretend game they’ve been playing is actually real.
This government of ours is coo-coo.
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