Defense &
National Security
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Defense &
National Security
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After deadly crash, congested DC skies under scrutiny |
The deadly crash this week between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet that killed 67 has raised questions about the increasingly congested air traffic in the nation's capital. |
Commercial and military pilots have long shared a busy airspace over Washington, D.C. While human error appears to be a factor in Wednesday's crash, questions regarding rules and regulations for military and civil aviation have been mounting. The plane that collided with a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River Wednesday night had been coming in from Kansas to land at Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., an airport where the number of flights have soared in the past decade. Last year, Congress passed a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill that increased the number of flights at National Airport by 10.
At the time, concerns were raised by lawmakers including from Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia, who warned that National Airport was already the busiest in the country and the bill was “gambling with the safety of everyone who uses this airport.”
“I’ve been very worried about this for a long time, and I continue to be worried about it,” Kaine told reporters Thursday. “I’ve been very, very concerned about this, very complex airspace, commercial, military, the way security demands of being in the nation’s capital puts some significant restrictions on that."
Congress has generally restricted nonstop flights from National Airport outside of a 1,250-mile perimeter, leading longer flights to airports like Washington Dulles International Airport or Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall. But over the years, Congress has continued chipping away at the limit to allow more flights outside the perimeter. The crash is the deadliest in the U.S. in 24 years, after a November 2001 American Airlines crash in New York killed 260 people. Several failures appear to have contributed to this week’s crash, but much of the attention has turned to the Black Hawk helicopter, which President Trump faulted for flying too high and not maneuvering out of the plane’s way as it was returning to National Airport.
The Army has since identified two of the three crew killed, including Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Ga., — believed to be deceased pending positive identification — and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Md., whose remains have not yet been recovered. The name of the third soldier, whose body had also not yet been recovered, was not released at the request of the family. The crash is being investigated by the military, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FAA, and it will likely take months for a full picture to emerge. The NTSB said it can have a preliminary report within 30 days. Read the full report at TheHill.com. |
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. |
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How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future: |
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday announced it would restrict helicopter routes in the Washington region following a deadly collision this week between an Army Black Hawk and a commercial jet airliner that killed 67 people. The FAA said it would restrict helicopter traffic in the area over the Potomac River around Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., where the crash occurred on Wednesday night. … |
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President Trump on Friday asserted the military helicopter involved in Wednesday night’s deadly midair collision near Washington, D.C., was “flying too high.” “The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200 foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???” Trump posted on Truth Social. More than 60 people died after a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter … |
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The Pentagon has struck a Biden administration policy of covering travel costs for service members and their dependents who must cross state lines to receive abortions and other reproductive care, according to a new memo. The change, which took effect Tuesday, was announced in a memo posted by the Defense Travel Management Office on Wednesday. The move is the latest Trump administration action meant to scrub Biden-era … |
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Upcoming things we're watching on our beat: |
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio is will travel to Panama this weekend in his first trip abroad
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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will hold a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after a meeting at NATO Headquarters at 12:40 p.m. Monday in Brussels, Belgium.
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
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Cornyn, member of Intel panel, will vote for Gabbard |
Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R), an influential member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, announced Friday that he will vote for Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump’s pick to serve as director of national intelligence. Cornyn, who said earlier this week that he had “questions” about Gabbard’s views on expanded … |
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Events in and around the defense world: |
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Wilson Center will discuss “Donald Trump's Second Term: Thinking Through the Transition,” at 10 a.m.
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Atlantic Council will hold a conversation on “Why Ecuador matters for the future of Western Hemisphere security,” at 12 p.m.
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Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies will have a talk on the transatlantic relationship, Ukraine and Europe security at 12:30 p.m.
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Wilson Center will also host a discussion on “Security in Focus: Poland’s EU Presidency and the Transatlantic Alliance in 2025,” at 2 p.m.
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News we've flagged from other outlets: |
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Chief VA watchdog who helped expose flawed computer system in Spokane speaks out after being fired by Trump (The Spokesman-Review)
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Amid tense presidential transition, Army chief focused on warfighting (Military Times)
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Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
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The air traffic controllers union responded Friday to claims by President Trump this week that diversity programs contributed to the fatal crash in … Read more |
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Director of national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard’s views on former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and his theft of more … Read more |
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Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill: |
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You're all caught up. See you Monday! |
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Sixty-seven are presumed dead in the incident where a Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia.
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NTSB officials say recorders from both aircraft have been recovered in good condition as the investigation into the crash continues.
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