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U.S. government admits role in plane crash that killed skaters
ESPN ^ | December 18th, 2025 | ESPN News Services

Posted on 12/18/2025 9:51:08 AM PST by Third Person

The U.S. government admitted Wednesday that the actions of an air traffic controller and Army helicopter pilots played a role in causing the Jan. 29 collision between an airliner and a Black Hawk near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people, including a group of elite young figure skaters.

It was the deadliest plane crash on American soil in more than two decades. The figure skaters, their parents and coaches who had just attended the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, were among those on the plane.

The official response, made in court documents responding to the first lawsuit filed by one of the victims' families, said the government is liable in the crash partly because the air traffic controller violated visual separation procedures that night. Plus, the filing said, the Army helicopter pilots' "failure to maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid" the airline jet makes the government liable.

But the filing suggested that others, including the pilots of the jet and the airlines, might also have played a role. The lawsuit also blamed American Airlines and its regional partner, PSA Airlines, for roles in the crash, but those airlines have filed motions to dismiss.

(Excerpt) Read more at espn.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dei; fakenews

1 posted on 12/18/2025 9:51:08 AM PST by Third Person
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To: Third Person

It was the DEI Army...


2 posted on 12/18/2025 9:52:21 AM PST by Paladin2 (YMMV)
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To: Third Person

That’s a weird headline.

Most of us know about it, but skaters wasn’t first and foremost, but rather Washington DC and the US Army flying too close to the airport.


3 posted on 12/18/2025 9:52:40 AM PST by Alas Babylon! (They don't kill you because you're a Nazi, they call you a Nazi so they can kill you.--CFW)
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To: Alas Babylon!

ESPN looking for an angle to report the story.


4 posted on 12/18/2025 9:56:34 AM PST by gundog (The ends justify the mean tweets. )
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To: Third Person

That was January 29, 9 days after Trump took power.
And the helicopter pilot was some woman who used to work at Biden White House.
I’d say it was a Biden regime problem.

And what’s ESPN doing reporting on old plane crashes with slanted headlines anyway?
No sports today?


5 posted on 12/18/2025 9:57:57 AM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: Third Person

On the subject of aviation, anyone else hear about NASCAR’s Greg Biffle Citation crash? No word yet if he was onboard.


6 posted on 12/18/2025 10:01:26 AM PST by RckyRaCoCo (there are demons out there, and they look like people)
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To: SmokingJoe

“And what’s ESPN doing reporting on old plane crashes with slanted headlines anyway?”

New news from yesterday. What’s with posting without understanding the OP?


7 posted on 12/18/2025 10:06:40 AM PST by TexasGator
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To: RckyRaCoCo

The entire family was aboard... Very sad.


8 posted on 12/18/2025 10:11:25 AM PST by Raven6 (Psalm 144:1 and Proverbs 22:3)
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To: TexasGator
Everybody understands the OP.
The crash was just this year.
Problem is this brazen attempt to put the blame on the Trump government, when it was actually a Biden regime problem.
You don't get any new policies effected in just 9 days in a huge organization like the federal government.
9 posted on 12/18/2025 10:12:06 AM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: Third Person
I don't think there is any inherent reason why women can't be good pilots. The problem comes when DEI pressure to increase the number of female pilots results in a lowering of standards.

And I know, they don't admit that standards are lower. But what happens is there is systemic pressure to water-down negative marks and grades, and the result is that errors and mistakes by DEI personnel get played down or simply glossed over. Someone fails, so you give them multiple additional shots to get it right rather than simply concluding that they aren't cut out for that role.

10 posted on 12/18/2025 10:12:35 AM PST by Bruce Campbells Chin
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To: SmokingJoe

“Everybody understands the OP.”

Then why did you ask?


11 posted on 12/18/2025 10:13:36 AM PST by TexasGator
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To: TexasGator

I “asked” about the OP?
Where was that?


12 posted on 12/18/2025 10:16:58 AM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: SmokingJoe

“I “asked” about the OP?
Where was that?”

Your #5


13 posted on 12/18/2025 10:21:19 AM PST by TexasGator
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To: SmokingJoe

The Biden regime would never have made such an admission


14 posted on 12/18/2025 10:23:11 AM PST by bigbob (We are all Charlie Kirk now)
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To: TexasGator
Post 5 huh?
Which was in part:
“And what's ESPN doing reporting on old plane crashes with slanted headlines anyway?
No sports today?”

Post said it was an old plane crash -—— correct.
Slanted headlines -—— correct.

15 posted on 12/18/2025 10:25:07 AM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: bigbob

Probably not.


16 posted on 12/18/2025 10:25:59 AM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: Third Person

Politically connected DEI lesbian who was barely qualified after a long rotation of White House escort duty (which she also got for being a lesbo). Assigned to a plum flying job most Army pilots don’t have a shot at.
A long series of baboon style wide open mouth photos in the cockpit.

She was a clown in a DEI outfit, and killed an airliner full of people.

The Army put someone like that in goggles, at night, flying through that approach.


17 posted on 12/18/2025 10:31:29 AM PST by DesertRhino (When men on the chessboard, get up and tell you where to go…)
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To: SmokingJoe

Maybe a report is out on the crash. They take months, or years, to conduct investigations.


18 posted on 12/18/2025 10:53:50 AM PST by PghBaldy (12/14/12- 930am -rampage begins... 12/15/12 - 1030am - Obama team scouts photo-op locations.)
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