Free Republic

An Army Black Hawk helicopter decided to take the “scenic route” near the Pentagon—and came way too close to two passenger planes trying to land in D.C. Both jets were forced to pull up at the last second—one was just 450 feet from the ground. This is the same Army brigade involved in a January crash that killed 67 people, the worst U.S. aviation disaster in over 20 years. Officials are fuming, again. And Reagan Airport? Still dealing with controller shortages, near-misses, and—oh yeah—a literal fistfight in the control tower last year. Flying into D.C. is starting to feel like...

Federal transportation safety officials were investigating on Friday after two commercial flights aborted landings because an Army helicopter had entered the airspace around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, where helicopter traffic has been restricted since a fatal collision in January.Air traffic controllers instructed Delta Air Lines Flight 1671 and Republic Airways Flight 5825 to abort their landings around 2:30 p.m. Thursday because of the helicopter’s presence, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which has begun an investigation along with the National Transportation Safety Board.The helicopter was a Black Hawk headed to the nearby Pentagon, the safety board said.Both planes later...

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why multiple commercial flights about to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport, near Washington DC, repeatedly received midair collision alerts over the weekend when there were no other aircraft nearby.The alerts occurred only miles from the site of the deadly January 29 midair collision of American Eagle 5342 and a US Army Blackhawk helicopter.Several flight crews reported the mystery alerts on their Traffic Collision Avoidance System, known as TCAS, on Saturday “indicating another aircraft was nearby when no other aircraft were in the area,” the FAA said in a statement on Monday.“We were about...

Musk’s SpaceX team visiting key FAA command center — despite past frictions Multiple sources reporting. Placeholder discussion for FR blog

In this exclusive interview, former airline pilot Jason sits down with John to analyze the recent air disaster at Washington National Airport (DCA). With his years of experience in the cockpit & hundreds of flights into DCA, Jason provides expert insight into what may have gone wrong, the challenge pilots face in high-pressure situations, and what this means for aviation safety moving forward.

An internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety report on the Wednesday night fatal collision between an American Airlines flight and a Black Hawk helicopter has revealed that staffing at the air traffic control tower at the DC-area airport was "not normal." The internal safety report, reviewed by the New York Times, stated that the number of staff at Reagan National Airport’s air traffic control tower was "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic." The controller in the tower Wednesday evening was handling both helicopters in the airport’s vicinity as well as instructing planes that were...

Investigators are going to have to look at every possible reason a military Black Hawk Helicopter could crash into an American Airlines passenger jet landing at Reagan Airport in D.C. The calls from air traffic controllers for the helicopter to “return to base” raise serious concerns over what may have caused this crash. We even pulled the altitude and flight tracking data that revealed sharp zig-zags and a sudden drop in altitude moments before the crash. Here are the possible reasons behind the disaster: Mechanical Failure Air Traffic Control Failure Human Error Nefarious Action Pilot Suicide Computer Hack ....

Fox News obtained exclusive information regarding the crew members aboard the Army helicopter at the time of the accident. The instructor pilot commanding the Black Hawk boasted 1,000 flying hours. Meanwhile, his co-pilot was a woman with 500 flying hours, considered to be a standard level of experience in aviation circles. The revelation that the co-pilot was a woman has reignited ongoing debates about gender roles within military operations. Fox News reported:

President Trump zinged a reporter asking if he will visit the site of the American Airlines plane crash. .... Snip.... “Do you have a plan to go visit the site?” a reporter asked Trump. “I have a plan to visit – what’s the site? The water? Do you want me to go swimming?” Trump said. “Well, to me, it’s the first responders down there,” the reporter said. WATCH:

The plane had been cleared to land on Reagan National Airport’s main runway. But in the final moments of the flight, air traffic control asked the pilot to land on a separate, intersecting runway.Shortly before an American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night, the plane’s pilots were asked to pivot its landing route from one runway to another, according to a person briefed on the event and conversation overheard on audio recordings of conversations that occurred between an air traffic controller and the pilots. American Airlines Flight 5342, which was en...

The air traffic controller on duty at the time of the deadly passenger plane-Black Hawk helicopter crash in Washington, DC, was doing the work of two people, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Staffing in the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” ... Understaffing resulted in a controller pulling double duty — overseeing helicopters while also guiding arriving and departing planes on the busy airport’s runways, the report found. Those responsibilities are normally split between two controllers, ... The Biden-era report also highlighted the agency’s...

Jessica 🇺🇸 @RealJessica05 REMINDER: Biden’s pick to lead the FAA was a DEI hire who couldn’t answer a single question about aviation.

Lawmakers repeatedly added flights despite fears of delays and accidents.Congress has repeatedly voted to increase the number of daily flights at Reagan National Airport, adding departures that made life more convenient for lawmakers despite warnings that increased air traffic around Washington would raise the risk of delays and accidents.On Tuesday, an American Airlines regional jet with 64 people on board collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near the airport. Authorities have said that none of those on either aircraft are believed to have survived.The causes of that collision are still unclear. But a look back...

I was a Blackhawk helicopter crew chief in the Army. I was even a Flight Instructor. This means that I trained Crew Chiefs and ensured that they completed all training annually to maintain their flight ratings. One massive responsibility we had was to be the eyes for the pilots. We handled airspace obstacle avoidance and communicated potential risks to the pilots. Quite often we would train as a flight of 2 or 3 birds flying in formation. It was my job to have my head out the window and tell the pilots that the aircraft behind us was "staggered right...

An air traffic control veteran with 23 years of experience has revealed the mistake operators made in the moments leading up to the deadly collision in Washington, DC. The American Airlines jet with 64 people onboard crashed with a US Army helicopter carrying three soldiers over the icy waters of the Potomac River Wednesday night, killing everyone. The Black Hawk helicopter apparently flew in the jet's path as it landed at Ronald Reagan National Airport. Investigators working through the wreckage in the Potomac uncovered two black box flight recorders on Thursday night as they attempt to determine what went wrong....

On Tuesday night, just 24 hours before a deadly collision between a military helicopter and a regional jet at Reagan National Airport, a different passenger jet coming in for a landing at the airport alerted the tower it had to abort. The reason: risk of possible collision with a helicopter. A similar situation played out less than a week earlier, on Jan. 23, when a flight from Charlotte suddenly pulled out of its approach at National. The captain informed passengers that he was tracking a helicopter and needed to abort the landing.

What in the world just happened at Reagan National Airport? Like many of you, I was deeply distressed to hear of such a great tragedy that should have been so easy to avoid. There is no way that we can bring back those that have died. Many believe that if competent people were running things at Reagan National Airport, they would still be with us. Others are entirely convinced that we aren’t being given the entire picture. There are so many unanswered questions, and I am going to share quite a few with you in this article. But let’s start...

On Tuesday night, just 24 hours before a deadly collision between a military helicopter and a regional jet over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, a different regional jet coming in for a landing at the airport alerted the air traffic control tower that it had to make a second approach. We had an RA with a helicopter traffic below us,” a female voice in the cockpit of Republic Airways Flight 4514 said at roughly 8:05 p.m. Tuesday, according to the audio recording from air traffic control. “RA” is the code for the automated emergency alert, known as a...

For at least two decades, pilots have complained about near misses with helicopters and other aircraft in the congested airspace above Reagan National Airport, according to an NBC 5 Investigates review of complaints lodged with NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System. The complaints are not necessarily investigated or corroborated by the federal aviation authorities but do underscore concerns raised by the pilots themselves about airspace congestion at one of the nation's busiest commercial runways in DCA. NBC 5 Investigates found at least 16 complaints in NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System dating back to 2006 where pilots referenced near misses with helicopters...

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!! 2.53k ReTruths 8.74k Likes Jan 30, 2025, 12:19 AM