NTSB Probing Aborted Landings at Reagan Due to Army Helicopter
By and Mary Schlangenstein
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The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating aborted landings by two flights into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport due to a nearby US Army Black Hawk helicopter that was traveling to the Pentagon.
Air traffic control instructed pilots on the two flights — one operated by Delta Air Lines Inc. and another by Republic Airways — to perform a common maneuver known as a go-around, in which flight crews terminate a landing attempt and climb back into the air, the NTSB said in a statement on Friday. The US Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating the incident.
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Fox News
3 hours ago
- Fox News
Army's historic horse-drawn funeral tradition returns from two-year hiatus after $28M overhaul
The U.S. Army's Caisson Detachment returned to Arlington National Cemetery this week for the first time in two years. In Section 62, the ceremonial horse unit that transports veterans and service members to their final resting place, escorted the remains of Private Bernard Curran, who was killed in World War II. Curran died in 1942 after being captured by the Japanese. He was buried alongside other prisoners of war in Common Grave 723 in the Philippines. He was brought back home to the United States after his remains were identified by the U.S. military last year. The hallowed grounds of Arlington were decided to be his final resting place. The ceremony marked the return of the Caisson Detachment after a two-year suspension. The program faced a massive overhaul after two horses died within 96-hours of each other due to poor living conditions. The US Army's Caisson platoon is part of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, also known as the Old Guard, famously responsible for guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Caisson horses have pulled the flag-draped coffins of America's war heroes to their final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery for more than 70 years. This is a military tradition that Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who served in an Armored Infantry unit in Iraq, explained dates back hundreds of years. "The Caisson units in the military go back hundreds and hundreds of years, when militaries and armies want to show respect and love for their soldiers, soldiers who have served honorably and the soldiers who died in war," Driscoll said in an exclusive interview with Fox News. The Caisson program was halted in May 2023 while the Army investigated concerns that the horses used to pull the caisson were suffering from dangerous living conditions and neglect. "We had two horses die within four days of each other," Driscoll said. "And so we did a pause to all the operations and the Army took a hard look at what was causing that. What they found is these horses and their care had kind of fallen through the cracks." In February 2022, two Caisson horses, Mickey and Tony, died within 96 hours of each other. Both were euthanized due to poor conditions and feeding. Tony was found to have ingested 44 pounds of gravel and sand while Mickey had a gastrointestinal illness that went untreated. Another two horses died within the year, raising concerns within the Army and denying families this ceremonial tradition. "We hadn't done a particularly good job as an Army in all instances of making sure the training was good and that the horses were taken care of, so we took a pause. It was originally meant to be a 45-day pause that then as the government and sometimes the Army, it stretched on and on," Driscoll said. The Caisson unit was living in stables at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia at the time. A U.S. Army report found that conditions among the aging horses at decrepit stables located at Fort Meyer, that had been built in 1908, were inadequate to house the ceremonial horses. The horses were fed low quality hay, and routinely suffered from parasites from standing in their own excrement. They ate their feed off the ground in mud lots covered in gravel and construction waste, according to the report. Major General Trevor Bredenkamp, who serves as Commanding General of Joint Task Force National Capital Region and U.S. Army Military District of Washington, took command shortly after the Caisson program was suspended. "We had to rehabilitate many of our horses and what we found is years of underinvestment. They were injured beyond the point where they could still continue the mission, and so we had to retire them, and then we had to procure new horses… we found we lacked a degree of expertise to care for these horses," Bredenkamp said. He oversaw the complete overhaul of the unit. "It wasn't a problem that manifested itself overnight. This was decades of under-investment. We understood that gravel impaction was a significant problem because there was feed that was on the ground. We didn't have the appropriate matting in the stalls and so gravel could easily become mixed in with hay or with ground cover, and so we have raised all of the feed off of the ground, we've got feed bags hanging on the inside of the stalls. We have also put rubber matting on there again to prevent the possibility of gravel being ingested by the horses," Bredenkamp explained. The Army set out to find the best horse trainers in the country. "We brought in these outside experts. We created a plan. We invested $28 million in it over the last two years," Driscoll said. Lt. Col. Jason Crawford is a trained Army veterinarian who has been riding horses his whole life. Crawford was promoted to become the new caisson detachment commander earlier this year. "We've now had civilian trainers on our squads, on each individual squad, as well as within our leadership," Crawford explained. It was dental day when Crawford showed the Fox News crew around the newly renovated stable. "We've been doing dental procedures on all these horses, and we got them on a good routine now, and that's one of the other big changes, is really being persistent about their care," Crawford said. The Caisson unit has to choose their horses carefully. The unit will be doing up to two funerals a day, up 10 per week on the hard pavement of Arlington National Cemetery. "Unlike some of the other smaller breed horses, they're going to be on the concrete and the pavement. So really having strong feet for them to actually move through the cemetery is very vital. The biggest thing we look at is just being tall, wide, and have a good strong back and a solid hindquarters and solid legs," Crawford said. It takes a special horse to complete the mission of escorting America's heroes to their final resting place. "The way I look at anything with the horses, especially at military animals, is they're an extension of us. And it's that extension of what our abilities that we can do. Anything, you know, whether it's a working dog in the battlefield or if it's a horse we're using in Arlington Cemetery," Crawford said. The Army has returned the Caisson unit to its storied role after renovating the stables, and overhauling the care of the caisson horses using the best practices learned from the nation's top equine experts and equestrians. "I would say, though this horse cannot speak, I think it would say that it is living one of the best lives of any horse in our country," Driscoll said. Bredenkamp, who led the overhaul of the unit, explained, "As a 33-year veteran of the United States military, it is a visible reminder of the solemnity of service. When we carry our honored dead to our final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery, it is a visible symbol of American resolve and honor."
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
NTSB report says plane that caught fire had incorrectly installed parts
A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board found indications maintenance errors could be at fault for an American Airlines plane that caught fire after making an emergency landing at Denver International Airport in March. Investigators say airport cameras captured video showing a trail of fluid following the plane as it taxied after diverting to Denver due to an engine issue. When investigators looked at the plane's engine, they discovered some parts were loose and appeared to be installed incorrectly, with one "allowing fuel to leak from the fitting." "The way this is looking is that there was a maintenance issue that led to this fire and we've gotta figure out where that error occurred so we can keep that error from happening again," said former NTSB chair Robert Sumwalt, CBS News transportation safety analyst. Passengers escape plane The NTSB says the fire was put out in less than a minute by ground crews in Denver. The report describes the chaos in the cabin after passengers, who were flying to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, saw flames under the engine. "Everyone was screaming, 'There's a fire. There's a fire,'" Helen Prager, who was on the plane, recalled. "Literally at the gate and I was screaming, 'Get the doors open.'" As that was happening, the NTSB said a flight attendant called the pilots, but "did not get an answer." Another flight attendant knocked on the cockpit door to alert the pilots of the fire outside and the smoke inside. Some of the 172 passengers evacuated to the wing, but an escape slide jammed, preventing the use of the cabin doors. "When it did not deploy properly and it jammed the door, that's a problem," Sumwalt said. "So the NTSB is going to want to drill down into that. … Did it come from the factory that way, or was it a maintenance problem?" Twelve people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries following the fire, officials said following the incident. The plane took off from Colorado Springs. In a statement, American Airlines told CBS News, "The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority and we are cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation." Aviation incidents in 2025 The plane fire in Denver is one in a string of aviation incidents so far this year. In January, a midair collision where a Blackhawk helicopter struck an American Airlines plane near Reagan National Airport killed all 64 people on board the regional jet and the three soldiers in the helicopter. The flight was coming from Wichita, Kansas. A Delta Air Lines regional jet crashed and flipped upside down during its landing at Toronto International Airport in February. The incident left 21 people injured, but all 80 on board, including the crew, were able to escape the wreckage. Members of Congress were on a plane sitting on the tarmac at Reagan National Airport in April when it was clipped by another aircraft. No injuries were reported in the incident. Meanwhile, the FAA is investigating outages that have happened at the Philadelphia air traffic control center, which is responsible for operating flights out of Newark airport. Multiple outages have occurred since April. Last month, the Trump administration announced plans to overhaul the system. Despite high-profile incidents this year, a CBS News analysis based on NTSB and Bureau of Travel Statistics data shows .02% of domestic flights were involved in accidents in 2024. Musk alleges Trump's name appeared in Epstein files as feud escalates What to know about President Trump's travel ban on nationals from 12 countries Trump says he's disappointed by Musk criticism of budget bill, Musk says he got Trump elected
CNBC
9 hours ago
- CNBC
NTSB finds fuel leak and improperly installed parts in the engine of an airliner that caught fire
A fuel leak and several improperly installed parts were found inside the engine of an American Airlines plane that caught fire after the plane landed in Denver in March, according to a report released Thursday. The National Transportation Safety Board said one part inside the right engine of the Boeing 737-800 was loose and had been installed in the wrong direction and that fuel was leaking from the fitting of another part that was also fastened incorrectly. The preliminary findings don't identify the cause of the fire because the NTSB won't reach that conclusion until after it completes its investigation, likely sometime next year. But former NTSB and FAA investigator Jeff Guzzetti said the problems investigators found in the engine appear to be the source of the fuel that caught fire. "To me, it looks like improper maintenance in the right engine leading to a fuel leak," Guzzetti said after reading the NTSB report. Photos and videos posted online showed billowing smoke and passengers standing on the plane's wing after it taxied to a gate at Denver International Airport. Twelve people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The plane carried 172 passengers and six crew. The NTSB said gate workers extinguished the fire within a minute even before firefighters arrived and doused lingering hot spots on the plane. American Airlines said in a statement that "the safety of our customers and team members is our top priority, and we are cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation." Pictures included in the NTSB report show streaks on the outside of the engine from the leaking fuel, and airport video showed a trail of fluid leaking from under the right engine as the airplane taxied to the gate. Guzzetti said he believes those streaks were probably made while the plane was flying. After it landed, he said, the fuel likely pooled inside the engine and caught fire. The American Airlines flight had left Colorado Springs Airport and was bound for Dallas-Fort Worth when it diverted to Denver on March 13 after the crew reported high engine vibrations. The plane's right engine caught fire after it arrived at the gate. Passengers started yelling "fire" and "smoke" shortly after the plane pulled up to the gate, and flight attendants saw smoke beginning to fill the cabin, according to the NTSB report. The flight attendants tried calling the flight crew and knocking on the cockpit door, but got no answer. So the report said the flight attendants initiated the evacuation. Passengers were able to use the jetway at the front left door and the escape slide at the right rear door as well as the left over-wing doors to evacuate. But the left rear door wouldn't open, and maintenance personnel discovered afterward that the escape slide had jammed in the door. The faulty slide was sent to the manufacturer for further investigation. The country has seen a recent spate of aviation disasters and close calls, stoking fears about air travel even though flying remains a very safe mode of transportation.
