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Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll questioned whether Army helicopters should beryllium flying grooming missions successful 1 of the nation’s astir congested formation paths aft Wednesday's tragic Washington, D.C.-area collision.
"It’s an mishap that seems to beryllium preventable," Driscoll, an Army veteran, said during a Thursday confirmation proceeding astatine the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"There are due times to instrumentality hazard and inappropriate times to instrumentality risk," helium said. "I deliberation we request to look astatine wherever is an due clip to instrumentality grooming risk, and it whitethorn not beryllium astatine an airdrome similar Reagan."
Sixty-four radical were aboard the American Airlines formation inbound from Wichita, Kan., which collided with an Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk chopper conscionable earlier it was acceptable to interaction down astatine Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport successful Arlington, Virginia. Authorities bash not judge anyone survived.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed the 3 soldiers who were aboard the chopper were a "fairly experienced crew" doing a "required yearly nighttime evaluation."
"We expect that the probe volition rapidly beryllium capable to find whether the craft was successful the 4th astatine the close altitude astatine the clip of the incident," helium said.
In a blunt Truth Social post, President Donald Trump called the clang "a atrocious concern that looks similar it should person been prevented."
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"The airplane was connected a cleanable and regular enactment of attack to the airport. The chopper was going consecutive astatine the airplane for an extended play of time," Trump wrote. "It is simply a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights connected the level were blazing, wherefore didn’t the chopper spell up oregon down, oregon turn. Why didn’t the power operation archer the chopper what to bash alternatively of asking if they saw the plane."
Ronald Reagan Washington National, an airdrome owned by the national government, has been the taxable of statement for years. It has 1 of the shortest runways successful the industry, yet Congress approved further formation slots successful 2024 arsenic portion of its Federal Aviation Administration bill. The formation from Wichita, Kan., had conscionable been added successful 2024.
The airdrome faces analyzable aviation logistics adjacent hyperprotected airspace adjacent the Pentagon, White House and Capitol, but lawmakers person pushed to support it unfastened owed to the convenience of its proximity to D.C.
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"We’re gonna person to enactment unneurotic to marque definite that ne'er happens again," Driscoll said successful his Thursday confirmation hearing, promising to instrumentality a hard look astatine what grooming was needed, peculiarly amid the Army's accrued usage of its vertical assistance aircraft.
Less than 30 seconds earlier the crash, an aerial postulation controller asked a chopper if it had the arriving level successful sight, according to aerial postulation power audio. The controller made different vigor telephone to the chopper moments later, saying "PAT 25 walk down the CRJ" — seemingly telling the chopper to hold for the Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine pitchy to pass. There was nary reply. Seconds aft that, the craft collided.
Military helicopters regularly transverse implicit the D.C.-area airport's formation paths to ferry elder authorities officials implicit the Potomac River into D.C. No elder officials were connected committee the downed Black Hawk, according to the Army.
Fox News' Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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