Latest news with #ex-Pentagon
Hindustan Times
24-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
US Pentagon lost contact with helicopter causing jets to nix DC airport landing
Military air traffic controllers lost contact with an Army helicopter for about 20 seconds as it neared the Pentagon on the flight that caused two commercial jets to abort their landings this month at a Washington airport, the Army told The Associated Press on Friday. The aborted landings on May 1 added to general unease about continued close calls between government helicopters and commercial airplanes near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport following a deadly midair collision in January between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people. Also Read: Another close call at Reagan Airport: Plane carrying lawmakers struck by aircraft| Video In March, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that helicopters would be permanently restricted from flying on the same route where the collision occurred. After the May 1 incident, the Army paused all flights into and out of the Pentagon as it works with the FAA to address safety issues. Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, the head of Army aviation, told the AP in an exclusive interview that the controllers lost contact with the Black Hawk because a temporary control tower antenna was not set up in a location where it would be able to maintain contact with the helicopter as it flew low and rounded the Pentagon to land. He said the antenna was set up during construction of a new control tower and has now been moved to the roof of the Pentagon. Also Read: Who is Lue Elizondo? The ex-Pentagon official behind the controversial '1,000-foot UFO' photo Braman said federal air traffic controllers inside the Washington airport also didn't have a good fix on the location of the helicopter. The Black Hawk was transmitting data that should have given controllers its precise location, but Braman said FAA officials told him in meetings last week that the data the controllers were getting from multiple feeds and sensors was inconclusive, with some of it deviating by as much as three-quarters of a mile. 'It certainly led to confusion of air traffic control of where they were,' Braman said. Former FAA and NTSB crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti said he thinks the air traffic controller did the right thing by ordering the two planes to go around that day. Also Read: Who is Jo Ellis? Trans Black Hawk pilot wrongly named in crash breaks silence; 'I don't deserve this' 'The Army, to me, seems to be attempting to sidestep some of their responsibility here. And it just sounds like excuses to say 'Hey, we had our ADS-B on and that should have been enough for them to see where we were.' That sounds too simplistic to me,' Guzzetti said. The FAA declined to comment on whether its controllers could not get a good fix on the Black Hawk's location due to their own equipment issues, citing the ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is pushing to have the agency modernize its air traffic control systems and equipment, which has failed controllers responsible for Newark Liberty Internal Airport's airspace at critical moments in recent weeks. In the initial reporting on the aborted landings, an FAA official suggested the Army helicopter was on a 'scenic route.' But the ADS-B-Out data, which the Army shared with the AP on Friday, shows the crew hewed closely to its approved flight path — directly up the I-395 highway corridor, which is called Route 5, then rounding the Pentagon. FAA air traffic controllers at the airport aborted the landing of a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 during the Black Hawk's initial flight toward the Pentagon because they realized both aircraft would be nearing the Pentagon around the same time, Braman said. Because of the 20-second loss of contact, the Pentagon's tower did not clear the Black Hawk to land, so the helicopter circled the Pentagon a second time. That's when air traffic controllers at the airport decided to abort the landing of a second jet, a Republic Airways Embraer E170, because they did not have a confident fix on the Black Hawk's location, Braman said.
Mint
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Is Pete Hegseth's job safe after Signal controversies? Donald Trump says Defense Secretary is going to get…
Pete Hegseth, floundering in controversies since his Signal chat revealed the plans to target Houthis in Yemen, will continue to serve as United States Secretary of Defense as President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support to him despite the ongoing controversies. In an interview with Atlantic, Donald Trump said Pete Hegseth is 'gonna get it together'. 'I think he's a smart guy. He is a talented guy. He's got a lot of energy. He's been beat up by this, very much so. But I had a talk with him, a positive talk, but I had a talk with him,' Trump said. When asked if Pete Hegseth would continue to serve in the federal government as Defense Secretary, Donald Trump said, 'Yeah, he's safe.' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had also told reporters that Donald Trump 'absolutely has confidence in the secretary's ability to lead the Pentagon. It's why he nominated him for this position. It's why the Senate voted to confirm him in this position.' After the Signalgate which saw a journalist involved in secret war planning, a New York Times report revealed that Pete Hegseth shared details of the Yemen strike in a Signal chat that included his wife and brother. Recently, a former top Pentagon spokesperson exposed how Pete Hegseth had unleashed chaos at the defense headquarters. From mass firings to resignations to sensitive information leaks to a spiraling blame game — this is how the Department of Defense under leadership of Pete Hegseth has functioned in recent weeks, as per the ex-Pentagon official. Three former senior advisers to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – Dan Caldwell, a Hegseth aide; Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; and Darin Selnick, Hegseth's deputy chief of staff – were ousted by Pete Hegseth and later blamed for 'leaking sensitive information'. All three have decried in a statement that the allegations were 'baseless' and that they have not even been told what they were being investigated for. First Published: 29 Apr 2025, 11:47 AM IST
Mint
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Pahalgam terror attack: Ex-Pentagon official questions timing, says 'Pak drawing attention away from Vance's visit'
Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin has come down heavily on Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack case, that left 26 tourists dead and several injured, demanding that the United States should formally designate Pakistan as a 'state sponsor of terror'. He also demanded that Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir be declared a 'terrorist'. Michael Rubin also questioned the timing of the Pahalgam terror attack, suggesting a link to US Vice President JD Vance's visit to India. Referring to the Chittisinghpura massacre of 2000 during former US President Bill Clinton's visit to India, the ex-Pentagon official said the Pahalgam terror attack was a Pakistani attempt to 'draw attention away from Vice President JD Vance's trip to India.' Michael Rubin said, 'The only reaction that the United States should take is a formal designation of Pakistan as a state sponsor of terror and a designation of Asim Munir as a terrorist.' "The only difference between Osama Bin Laden and Asim Munir is that Osama Bin Laden lived in a cave and Asim Munir lives in a palace, but beyond that, the two are the same, and their end should also be the same," Michael Rubin said. Speaking with news agency ANI from Washington, 'As for the timing, just as there was a terrorist attack when Bill Clinton went to India, so too does it seem that Pakistan wants to draw attention away from Vice President JD Vance's trip to India. The United States shouldn't let Pakistan get away with it, and we shouldn't pretend that this is some sort of spontaneous action.' The former Pentagon official went on to say that 'this just goes to show you that you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. You can pretend that Pakistan isn't a terror sponsor, but it remains a terror sponsor, no matter how much we try to normalise it.' On April 22, as many as 26 tourists, including an Indian Navy officer and a Karnataka businessman, were rounded up and shot dead by tourists at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam of Jammu and Kashmir – one of the deadliest in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. Following the terror attack, security forces have launched search operations to track down the terrorists responsible. US Vice President Vance was on an official trip to India along with his family from April 21-April 23. The vice president was in Jaipur when the terror attack happened in Pahalgam. Vance also dialed PM Narendra Modi and strongly condemned the dastardly terror attack in Pahalgam. He conveyed his deepest condolences on the loss of lives and reiterated that the United States stands with the people of India in this difficult hour. First Published: 24 Apr 2025, 09:32 AM IST
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Elon Musk could soon leave DOGE because of ‘nasty and unethical attacks'
Elon Musk's tenure as an advisor to President Donald Trump and overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, could end soon due to rising criticism from the political left, the Washington Post reported. Trump appointed the Tesla CEO at the start of his second administration and has since become the face of DOGE, leading the White House's effort to make cuts across several government departments and agencies. But at the start of his time at DOGE, Musk had a 130-day limit in working as a 'special government employee' until the end of May, Politico reported in early April. But on Monday, the Post reported that Musk anticipates leaving his role. 'The billionaire is ready to exit because he is tired of fielding what he views as a slew of nasty and unethical attacks from the political left, according to a person familiar with his thinking,' the Post wrote. By leaving DOGE, Musk believes his departure will not 'diminish the [department's] power or work,' the report stated. Protests in the wake of Trump's second inauguration have drawn attention to DOGE's cuts under Musk, with some supporters of the president taking to social media to express outrage towards Musk. Additionally, fires and acts of vandalism across the country at Tesla centers, including in Massachusetts, have been reported. Musk himself has taken to his platform, X, to go after his critics on the left, including Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. On Monday, pollster and analyst Nate Silver reported on his Substack that Musk's unfavorability was at 53%, while almost 40% of Americans favor him. His net favorability has remained steady since late March, possibly 'because he's scaled back the public-facing part of his role in the Trump administration as he prepares to exit government later this year,' Silver wrote. In March, DOGE announced over 250,000 federal job cuts, the highest single-month total since 2009, Benzinga reported. Trump White House purges COVID website. 'Lab leak' theory replaced it Why a pro-Trump ex-Pentagon official is now 'exiled' from the MAGA movement Debt collection will soon start for defaulted student loans. Here's when. Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty to run for reelection Trump's Republican critics hit his flip-flop on weaponizing the IRS
