The fatal collision of a black hawk and passenger jet in Washington DC shocked the nation on Wednesday and led to an investigation into what caused the crash in the air.
While the Republicans pointed to Dei and Democrats President Donald Trump, reports show that there have been serious warnings about the 'systemic failures' of the helicopter for decades.
There have been at least 10 major accidents that have killed more than 40 soldiers on American soil since 2014, including the three who lost their lives during a training flight last night.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY-D) called for an investigation into 'a disturbing pattern of incidents' in 2021 and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer released his concern about 'maintenance problems' two years later.
Lockheed Martin, the only manufacturer of the Black Hawk, was sued in 2017 by a widow, a UH-60 crew leader who died in a crash on a golf course in Maryland.
The suit claimed that the company knew that some components of the helicopter were 'unsuitable, unsafe, unorwetal and defective'.
In addition to technical issues, the army has been aware of training and maintenance problems since 2017 after a Pentagon report has established that the military branch 'has not provided sufficient financing and training for UH-60 pilots on the new equipment.
The mid-air collision on Wednesday took place when the American Airlines Jet would land on the Washington National Airport. Radio communication showed that the Black Hawk Helicopter -crew knew that the plane was nearby.
The fatal collision of a black hawk and passenger jet in Washington DC shocked the nation on Wednesday and led to an investigation into what caused the crash in the air
For years, civil servants have expressed concern about Black Hawks after dozens of accidents in the past decade that more than 30 American soldiers have killed
There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the flight of the American Airlines and three soldiers in the helicopter, they thus get dead.
District of Columbia Fire Chief John Donnelly said, “We don't believe that there were survivors at the moment.”
Donnelly said that 28 bodies had been found from the river so far, in what was the deadly American air disaster in more than a decade.
“We will work to find all bodies and reunite them with their loved ones,” he said.
Former aviation pilot and aviation safety expert Robert Sumwalt said CBS that the pilots of the aircraft may not have seen the helicopter because they were too focused on drawing up the runway.
“They are focused on the runway. I was a pilot for airlines for 24 years. I often landed on that runway. You are in turn. You don't look up for other traffic here at that time, “he said.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseeth said on Thursday: 'It was a reasonably experienced crew and it did a required annual night evaluation.
However, deadly black hawk incidents on American soil have plagued the American army for years with more than 40 accidents since the start of the helicopter in 1979.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY-D) called for an investigation into 'a disturbing pattern of incidents' in 2021 when two helicopters crashed. An incident happened in Rochester, New York (photo)
: Three New York National Guard soldiers were killed in January 2021 during a routine training mission
Black Hawks are good for at least 60 percent of the helicopter fleet of the army, Military.com reported.
The helicopters are four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift helicopters that have become a crucial part of the US army fighting system in the air.
They are used to offer air raid, general support and aeromedic evacuation to American troops, and Can also be used for support on command and control and special operations to combat, stability and support.
The costs to make a black hawk helicopter vary depending on the model, the equipment and the quantities. The price can vary from around $ 7.5 million to more than $ 40 million
Gillibrand insisted on the Ministry of Defense (DOD) to start an investigation into deadly crashes in Idaho and New York that took place within three months in 2021.
An investigation into the Idaho incident thought fog and precipitation were the culprit and the human mistakes would have caused the crash in New York.
“I ask you to take all the necessary steps to immediately investigate these incidents to determine whether they fit a larger pattern of malfunction at the UH-60 Black helicopter,” Gillibrand shared in a letter to the DOD.
“If so, I ask that the Ministry of Defense produces recommendations and guidance with regard to the operational readiness of the Black Hawk helicopter of the UH-60 and its crew to guarantee the safety of our service members.”
In 2023, two Black Hawk helicopters crashed in the air while giving night training, killing nine soldiers. The collision happened on March 29 near Fort Campbell, Kentucky
There were at least four deadly Black Hawk -Crashes in 2021, which Schumer led, a long -term advocate for air safety regulations, to participate in the concerns of Gillibrand.
Schumer has ordered the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the events and to request a full report that was released in 2023.
The report showed that the army and Air National Guard had set flight goals for pilots to use the helicopters, but those times were not achieved.
That was due to one “Lack of availability of air crew, maintenance problems and access to simulator.”
But a month before the report was released, two Black Hawk helicopters deposited in the air while giving nocturnal training, killing nine soldiers.
“I was deeply sad to hear that nine soldiers lost their lives on March 29 when their Black Hawk -helicopters crashed in Kentucky and that three soldiers were killed on 27 April in an Apache collision in Alaska,” Gillibrand said at the time.
'Although we understand that military service is inherently dangerous inherent, it remains a shock when we lose service members during training exercises.
The collision happened on March 29 near Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
The Army Combat Readiness Center (ACRC) opened a study in 2023, but still has to release its findings. ACRC refused to comment on the issue on DailyMail.com.
Major Trevor Joseph was killed in Louisiana on September 29, 2019 during an aviation accident. The engine failed when he approached the landing zone
The incident report showed that engine error caused the deadly crash
Two helicopters went off in 2019 due to technical problems.
Major Trevor Joseph was killed in Louisiana on September 29 during an aviation accident. The engine failed when he approached the landing zone.
And on December 5, three soldiers died in Minnesota when the Black Hawk also experienced motorcycle error, which crashed the helicopter
Lockheed bought Sikorsky, the first Black Hawk manufacturer, in 2015 for $ 9 billion.
Lockheed -subsidiary companies have been involved in several lawsuits with regard to the Black Hawk helicopter, in particular a lawsuit in 2018 that claimed that it supplied defective parts. A helicopter crashed in Maryland in 2017
One soldier was killed and the other two were seriously injured
The company's subsidiaries were involved in several lawsuits with regard to the Black Hawk helicopter, in particular a lawsuit in 2018 that claimed that it supplied defective parts.
The lawsuit was brought by SPC. Jeremy Tomlin's widow, Jessica; Capt. Terikazu Onoda and his wife; and Chief Warrant Officer Christopher Nicholas.
The complaint claimed The Startrotor system was defective.
Mariene Veteran and lawyer Timothy Loranger, who represented the claimant, told Military.com in 2018: 'The helicopter was defective, it crashed, the pilots were seriously injured, one person died; Sikorsky, we claim, is responsible for the crash. '
Dailymail.com has contacted Lockheed Martin for comments.
Duffy said that the collision for the air should not have happened on Wednesday, so that reforms would swear to 'ensure that these errors do not happen again and again'.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that the Midden song -Crash took place before 9 p.m. then a regional jet who had left Wichita, Kansas, bumped into a training flight with a military helicopter while approaching a runway in the airport.
It happened in some of the most tightly controlled and guarded airspace in the world, just over three miles south of the White House and the Capitol.
