How Black Hawk safety faults were a ticking time bomb

The deadly collision of a Black Hawk and passenger jet in Washington DC shocked the nation Wednesday, sparking an investigation into what caused the mid-air crash. While Republicans pointed to DEI and Democrats blamed President Donald Trump, reports show there have been serious warnings about the helicopter's 'systemic failures' for decades. There have been at least 10 major accidents that killed more than 40 soldiers since 2014 on American soil, 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' back in 2021 and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer raised concerns about 'maintenance issues' two years later. Lockheed Martin, the sole manufacturer of the Black Hawk, was sued in 2017 by a widow a UH-60 crew chief who died in a crash on a Maryland golf course. The suit claimed that the company knew some of the helicopter's components were 'unfit, unsafe, unairworthy and defective.'.

In addition to technical issues, the Army has been aware of training and maintenance issues since 2017 after a Pentagon report found the military branch 'did not provide adequate funding and training for UH-60 pilots on the new equipment. The mid-air collision on Wednesday occurred as the American Airlines jet was set to land at Washington National Airport. Radio communications showed the Black Hawk helicopter crew knew the plane was in the vicinity.

The deadly collision of a Black Hawk and passenger jet in Washington DC shocked the nation Wednesday, sparking an investigation into what caused the mid-air crash. Officials have raised concerns about Black Hawks for years following dozens of crashes in the last decade that have killed more than 30 American soldiers. There were 60 passengers and four crewmembers on the American Airlines flight and three soldiers in the helicopter, all are believed to be dead.

District of Columbia fire chief John Donnelly said: 'At this point, we do not believe there were any survivors.'. Donnelly said 28 bodies had been recovered from the river so far, in what was shaping up to be the deadliest US air disaster in more than a decade. 'We will work to find all the bodies and reunite them with their loved ones,' he said. Former airline pilot and aviation safety expert Robert Sumwalt told CBS the plane's pilots may not have seen the helicopter as they were too focused on lining up the runway.

'They're focused on the runway. I was an airline pilot for 24 years. I've landed on that runway many times. You're in the turn. You're not looking out here for other traffic at that point,' he said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday: 'It was a fairly experienced crew and it was doing a required annual night evaluation. However, deadly Black Hawk incidents on American soil have plagued the US Army for years with more than 40 mishaps since the helicopter's inception in 1979.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY-D) called for an investigation into 'a disturbing pattern of incidents' back in 2021 when two helicopters crashed. One incident happened in Rochester, New York (pictured). : Three New York National Guard soldiers were killed in January 2021 during a routine training mission. Black Hawks account for at least 60 percent of the Army's helicopter fleet, Military.com reported.

The helicopters are four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift helicopters that have become a critical part of the US Army's airborne fighting system. They are used to provide air assault, general support, and aeromedical evacuation to US troops, and can also be used for command and control and special operations support to combat, stability and support operations. The cost to make a Black Hawk helicopter varies depending on the model, equipment, and quantities. The price can range from around $7.5 million to over $40 million.

Gillibrand urged the Department of Defense (DoD) to launch an investigation into deadly crashes in Idaho and New York that happened within three months in 2021. An investigation into the Idaho incident found fog and precipitation were to blame and human error was said to have caused the crash in New York. 'I ask that you take all necessary steps to promptly investigate these incidents to determine if they fit a larger pattern of malfunction with the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter,' Gillibrand shared in a letter to the DoD.

'If so, I ask that the Department of Defense produce recommendations and guidance regarding the operational readiness of the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and its crew to ensure the safety of our service members.'. In 2023, two Black Hawk helicopters crashed mid-air while conducting nighttime 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, leading Schumer, a longtime advocate for air safety regulations, to join Gillibrand's concerns.