The military candidate for sec asks the question of whether military pilots should carry out flight training near Washington Airport
Military secretary The nominated Daniel Driscoll questioned whether military helicopters should be flying a mission training in one of the most vulnerable flight trails after Wednesday in the tragic collision of Washington, DC.
“It seems to be an accident that can be prevented,” said Driscoll, a military veteran, during a certificate hearing on Thursday on Armed forces Board.
“There are appropriate times for risk and inappropriate risk time,” he said. “I think we need to look at where it is appropriate for the risk of training, and it may not be at the airport like Reagan.”
Sixty-four people were on the ship of the American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kan., Who collided with the Sikorsky H-60 Army helicopter, Black Hawk just before he was supposed to touch at the National Airport by Ronald Reagan Washington. Authorities do not believe anyone survived.
The Chopper Black Hawk unit was on an annual flight to training expertise, says Hegsetth
Minister of Defense Pete Hegsetth They found that three soldiers who were on board Chopper were a “pretty experienced crew” doing “the necessary annual night estimate”.
Day. Driscoll questioned whether military helicopters should be flying missions training in one of the most endured flight trails after January 29, 2025 in Washington, a DC-Lieutenant Flight. (Pools of Screen shots)
“We predict that the investigation will quickly be able to determine if the aircraft was in a quarter at the right height at the time of the incident,” he said.
In a blunt social post office, president Donald Trump The collision called a “bad situation that seemed to be prevented.”
An American figure slider says he was forbidden to fly with a military helicopter
“The aircraft was on the perfect and routine line access to the airport. The helicopter went straight to the plane for a long time,” Trump wrote. “The clear night, the lights on the plane blazed, why the helicopter did not climb up or down or turn. Why did the control tower not say to the helicopter that instead of asking if they saw the plane.”
The Black Hawk Army helicopter collided with the American Airlines nozzle at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington. (Earth)
The next day of the Emergency Room, the US aircraft collision is searched after collapsing at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29. At Arlington, Virginia. (Tasos Cathopodis/Getty Images)
Ronald Reagan Washington National, an airport owned by the Federal Government, has been the subject of debate for years. It has one of the shortest runways in the industry, but in 2024 Congress approved additional flying slots within the Air Force Air Force Act. Flight from Wichite, Kan., It was just added to 2024.
Airport faces complicated aircraft logistics near the hyperprotected airspace near Pentagon, White house and Capitol, but the legislators pushed to be open to him because of the convenience of his proximity to DC
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“We will have to work together to make sure it never happens again,” Driscoll said in his certificate on Thursday, promising that he would have a hard time looking at what training needed, especially in the midst of increased use of his vertical aircraft.
Less than 30 seconds before the collision, the air traffic controller requested a helicopter whether the plane to arrive at the sight, according to the air traffic control sound. A few moments later sent a radio call to a helicopter, saying “Pat 25 passes behind CRJ”-streamlining to Chopper to wait for the bombardier CRJ-701 double engine to pass. There was no answer. After that, the aircraft collided.
Military helicopters regularly cross the Flying Trails of the DC Airport to put high government officials across the Potomac River in DC, no senior officials were on the ship of a demolished black hawk, the army reports.
Fox News’ Chad Percgragra and Associated Press contributed to this report.
