After blaming DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies for the mid-air collision between an American Airlines plane and a military helicopter Wednesday, President Donald Trump Friday blamed the military helicopter for 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.
The post came after a New York Times report raised the question as to whether the military helicopter was flying too high, going outside its approved flight path. It said the helicopter was at a higher altitude than it was supposed to be and at least half a mile off the approved route.
Quoting four people in the know of the matter, the NYT report claimed that the Army Black Hawk helicopter was supposed to be flying in a different location and lower to the ground as it traversed the busy Reagan National airspace.
So how did it crash on the American Airlines plane?
“Before a helicopter can enter any busy commercial airspace, it must get the approval of an air traffic controller. In this case, the pilot of the helicopter asked the air traffic controller for permission to use a specific, predetermined route that lets helicopters fly no higher than 200 feet and that hugs the bank on the east side of the Potomac River, a location that would have let it avoid the American Airlines plane,” the report said.
Helicopter pilot confirmed visual sight of the American Airlines plane
The report said that the requested route — referred to as Route 4 at Reagan — followed a specifically carved-out path already known to the air traffic controller and helicopter pilot. The helicopter pilot confirmed visual sight of the American Airlines plane, and the air traffic controller instructed the helicopter pilot to follow the route and go behind the plane. But the helicopter pilot did not follow the intended route, the people briefed on the matter told NYT.
“Rather, the helicopter was above 300 feet, not below 200 feet, and was at least a half-mile off the approved route when it collided with the jet,” the report said.
