Live updates: American Eagle jet crashes into Potomac River after collision with Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport
The Black Hawk helicopter isn't equipped with an alert system like a commercial airliner would be — but it does have superior visibility that could have helped a crew see an oncoming threat, said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.
Windows above, below and to both sides of the crew give Black Hawk pilots near-panoramic visibility that's far superior to that of a big jet, Duckworth said on MSNBC's "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell."
"So you can actually have pretty good visibility. So it is quite surprising that you can have this happening," said Duckworth, an Army veteran and former Black Hawk pilot.
She said it's far too early to draw any conclusions.
'This airspace is very, very, very busy, and we're praying ... that there are more survivors,' she said.
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Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Donald Trump's wild demand for 'no fat soldiers' at rambling US Army speech
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The Herald Scotland
3 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Army's $40 million parade: 'Once-in-lifetime opportunity'
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"The coincidence that the president's birthday is on this date that occurred 250 years ago, and that we the Army want to tell this story, is I think going to be backed up. The reason we are spending this money, the reason we are so excited about it, I think we'll be backed up by recruiting data in the months ahead. "This is not intended to be performative. We sincerely believe this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity." The parade, which includes potential damage to streets in Washington, D.C. from armored vehicles including 38 70-ton Abrams tanks, will range in cost from $25 million to $40 million. Democrats have criticized the event as a waste of money to promote Trump's image. "This is Trump. This is all about his ego and making everything about him," Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on May 14. The televised parade will reach a broad audience of Americans and spur some of them to serve, Driscoll said. "We believe that so many Americans are excited about this and will tune in," Driscoll said. "And it will quantitatively fill up our recruiting pipeline for the years to come. We think it is absolutely worth the investment." Driscoll said he believed with near certainty that Esper and Milley had been invited to attend the parade. The Army, a spokesman for Milley and the White House have not confirmed that. Esper is the former Army secretary Trump promoted to Defense secretary and then fired in November 2020 after he lost the election. Esper incurred Trump's wrath for urging restraint in deploying the military against protesters. Milley, a retired Army general, its chief of staff and the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also lost Trump's favor after apologizing for appearing in uniform near Trump after law enforcement officials forcibly cleared racial justice protesters from Lafayette Square, near the White House, so Trump could walk across it. The parade features dozens of armored combat vehicles, helicopters, vintage warplanes, thousands of soldiers in uniforms from the Revolutionary War to the present, horses, two mules and a dog. More: Soldiers excited (and nerve wracked) to drive tanks in DC military parade The procession will highlight the "robustness and incredible talent of our soldiers," Driscoll said. He hopes that Americans "feel pride and honor" when they watch the parade. "This is their Army," he said. In 2017, during his first term, Trump wanted to hold a military parade, but Pentagon officials were leery of appearing to politicize the armed forces. Then-Defense Sec. Jim Mattis said he would "rather swallow acid," according to "Holding the Line," a book by his former speechwriter Guy Snodgrass. That Army, through its National Guard troops, is engaged at Trump's order in helping protect federal buildings and Los Angeles and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials as they continue their crackdown on migrants expected of being in the country illegally. The deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles is justified and was approved by the voters who elected Trump. Trump, Driscoll said, is doing exactly what he said he'd do during the campaign. "Our system was designed for exactly these moments," Driscoll said. "The reason we have presidential elections, the reason so many Americans turned out in November to support our president, Donald J. Trump, was for exactly these kinds of moments. If you look at the four-year period when President Trump was out of office, I think the American people didn't want violence in their communities." The National Guard soldiers deployed to Los Angeles are talented, well trained and "excited" about being there, Driscoll said. The Department of Homeland Security has asked the Pentagon for more than 20,000 additional National Guard troops for law enforcement support for its immigration crackdowns. More: Trump wants 20,000 troops to hunt, transport immigrants. Cost estimate: $3.6 billion Driscoll said he hasn't been briefed on the request but that the Army is ready to operate inside U.S. borders in legally appropriate ways. "If the president feels, in consultation with the rest of the administration leadership, that is the best use of our National Guard, the Army stands by to support," Driscoll said. Rising risk from drone warfare On a separate issue, Driscoll talked about what he considers to be the top lethal threat to soldiers. Cheap, weaponized drones have become the weapon of choice in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Driscoll wants the Army to lead the Pentagon's effort to counteract drones. "It's the number one thing we talk about every single day," Driscoll said. Ukraine stunned Russia with a drone attack on its strategic warplanes. "That should send fear into the hearts of armies around the world," Driscoll said. "A solution that was tens of thousands of dollars and pretty cleverly done over six months with very little signature to catch. It took out multiple billions of dollars of equipment, and that threat is real, and that threat is one that is being faced by every country." Is the Pentagon better prepared than Russia for such an attack? "I don't know," Driscoll said. "Hope so."
NBC News
9 hours ago
- NBC News
Sen. Alex Padilla disputes Trump administration's account of incident that led to federal agents handcuffing him
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