Army Helicopter Crash Exposes Deadly Failures in FAA and Biden-Era Oversight

A devastating mid-air collision that killed 67 people near Washington, D.C., is now being blamed on a tangled web of incompetence, government negligence, and military bureaucracy and the full picture emerging is nothing short of enraging.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed Wednesday that the Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in the Jan. 29 crash was flying well above its approved altitude due to faulty equipment and dangerously narrow safety margins. Worse, warnings from air traffic controllers had been ignored for years. But rather than take responsibility, officials spent the hearing pointing fingers at one another as if 67 lives were just collateral damage in another Washington power shuffle.

Here’s what we now know:

• The helicopter’s altimeter was off by 80 to 100 feet, a flaw replicated in multiple other Army helicopters tested in the same unit.

• The FAA had recorded 85 near-misses at the same airport in just three years and did virtually nothing.

• Critical safety technology (ADS-B Out) was turned off or incorrectly installed on most of the Army’s helicopters.

• Air traffic control was overwhelmed, with one controller juggling six different aircraft on multiple frequencies just moments before the crash.

The accident occurred near Ronald Reagan National Airport and involved an American Airlines jet inbound from Wichita, Kansas. In the final two minutes before the collision, the controller was simultaneously directing a commercial airliner, multiple military and medical helicopters, and other traffic all while aircraft couldn’t hear each other due to split frequencies. The result? Stepped-on transmissions and missed warnings in the chaos.

What’s worse is that the FAA, under the Biden administration, had been repeatedly warned about the exact scenario that led to this tragedy.

NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy didn’t mince words “People are so critical of the federal government because you can’t ensure safety.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced legislation Tuesday that would require the military to equip all aircraft with fully functioning ADS-B systems and eliminate the Defense Department’s exemption from broadcasting aircraft location. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy agreed, calling the bill "the right approach," while noting that the Biden administration was “asleep at the wheel.”

And he’s right. For three years, the FAA shrugged off warnings, shifted blame, and reassigned staff instead of fixing deadly gaps in oversight. The Army, for its part, now admits that its aging fleet of Black Hawks is overdue for retirement, and that night vision gear which restricts pilots’ field of view may have played a role in the crash.

It’s hard to overstate the significance of what happened:

• 67 lives lost due to bureaucratic complacency.

• Technological safeguards deliberately disabled or left broken.

• Federal agencies prioritizing blame games over basic accountability.

This wasn’t an unavoidable tragedy. It was a preventable disaster that unfolded in plain sight and one that may happen again if meaningful reform doesn’t follow.

We don’t need more panels, hearings, or half-hearted apologies. We need action. We need a federal government that listens to warnings, equips pilots with working gear, and puts safety above politics. This administration failed and Americans paid the price.

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