Trump says helicopter in Washington crash was flying too high
U.S. President Donald
Trump said on Friday the Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a
regional passenger jet in Washington, D.C. was flying too high at the time of
the accident, in what appeared to be a major disclosure about the
investigation.
U.S. military
helicopters regularly fly a route over the Potomac River near the busy Ronald
Reagan Washington National Airport, known as Route 4. For safety reasons, the
altitude on those helicopter flights is capped at 200 feet (61 meters).
"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 said in a
Truth Social post.
The Army did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
The crash, in which 67
people died, remains under investigation by federal transportation authorities.
An Army official, speaking on condition of anonymity, urged caution and
patience as the investigation continues.
U.S. Defense Secretary
Pete Hegseth has acknowledged there may have been an elevation issue with the
Black Hawk. But, speaking earlier on Friday, before Trump's remarks, he said it
was still inconclusive.
"We're looking at
altitude, and the president was clear about that: someone was at the wrong
altitude. The investigation will help us understand that. Was the Black Hawk
too high, was it on course? Right now, we don't quite know," he told Fox
News in an interview.
Hegseth and the Army
have said the three-member crew of soldiers on the Black Hawk were experienced.
The Army said the instructor pilot, who was the designated pilot in command,
had 1,000 flying hours while the other pilot had 500 hours.
The third soldier was
a crew chief, typically riding in the back of the helicopter.
The helicopter was
from the 12th Aviation Battalion, which is based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
The unit is responsible for helicopter flights in the U.S. capital area and
regularly transports senior U.S. government officials.
The unit was placed on
a 48-hour pause on Thursday and Hegseth suggested it should be extended.
"We should have
that pause until we get to the bottom of this," Hegseth said.
The U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration is indefinitely restricting helicopter flights near
Washington Reagan National.
Todd Inman, a member
of the National Transportation Safety Board, said investigators have been told
that the Black Hawk will have had a recorder on it. They were not sure if it
was a combined data and voice recorder because it was a military craft, he
said.
"But we are told
that there is one on board. We have not retrieved it yet, but we feel
comfortable knowing where it's at," Inman said in an interview with CNN.
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