Army Helo That Crashed Into Airliner Over DC Was Rehearsing For Attack On Capitol: Report
The U.S. Army helicopter that collided midair with American Airlines flight 5342 on Wednesday had been engaged in a training mission simulating a potential attack on the capital.
Authorities have confirmed that the three soldiers who lost their lives in the tragic accident were practicing an emergency evacuation plan for the White House when their Black Hawk helicopter struck the passenger aircraft shortly before 9 p.m. on Wednesday.
According to defense sources speaking to CBS News, the details of the training mission were disclosed following speculation online, where internet sleuths theorized that the exercise was indeed centered on that exact scenario.
Social media was soon flooded with claims that the helicopter was executing an emergency evacuation procedure for the president under a Continuity of Government (COG) contingency plan, as reported by DailyMail.com.
A COG mission in the U.S. encompasses a series of protocols and procedures intended to ensure the continuity of essential government functions in the event of catastrophic occurrences, including nuclear attacks, natural disasters, cyberattacks, or terrorist incidents. A crucial aspect of such a mission involves safeguarding critical personnel and infrastructure.
On Friday, the Army identified Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, the pilot, and Staff Sergeant Ryan O’Hara, the crew chief, as two of the soldiers on board the helicopter.
Following a delay, the Army also named Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach from Durham, North Carolina, as the third soldier. According to Fox News, she “served as an aviation officer in the Army since July 2019 and had around 500 hours of flying time in the Black Hawk.” Initially, her family requested that her identity remain undisclosed amid unverified claims that DEI played a role in the crash.
Reports also indicated that Lobach had previously worked as a White House social media aide during the Biden administration.
An investigation remains underway into the cause of the collision between the U.S. Army Black Hawk and an American Eagle aircraft, which was carrying 64 passengers.
The impact resulted in a massive fireball, captured on vehicle dashcams and nearby surveillance cameras, before both aircraft plunged into the river.
On Friday, investigators recovered the helicopter’s black box, which contains the cockpit voice recorder and flight data receiver. The previous night, salvage teams also retrieved the black boxes from the American Airlines aircraft.
Another aviation disaster occurred on Friday when a medical Lear 55 jet crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood shortly after takeoff, killing all six people on board as well as a person on the ground.
According to Fox News, the aircraft, operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, had just departed from an airport in northeast Philadelphia before crashing. The outlet also obtained chilling air traffic control audio from the jet’s final moments.
In the recording, air traffic controllers can be heard making urgent attempts to establish contact with the plane just before impact.
“What’s going on down there?” one controller asks.
“We have a lost aircraft. We’re not exactly sure what happened. So, we’re trying to figure it out,” another controller responds. “The field is going to be closed so no inbounds-outbounds.” The plane took off around 6:55 p.m. EDT.
All six individuals on board—including two pilots, a physician, a paramedic, a pediatric passenger, and the child’s mother—were Mexican nationals, according to Fox News.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the aircraft was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri when the crash occurred.
Shai Gold, a spokesperson for Air Ambulance, told Fox News Digital that the patient on board was a Mexican national who had been receiving life-saving medical treatment in the U.S. Following successful treatment, she had been discharged and was preparing to return home.