Helicopter Route Permanently Closed After Deadly Black Hawk Collision with Plane

Aircraft Down

WASHINGTON — Helicopters will be permanently restricted from flying near Washington, D.C.’s airport on the same route where a passenger jet and an Army helicopter collided in midair, killing 67 people, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday. The move comes just days after federal investigators looking into the cause of the crash recommended a ban […]

Route Used by Army Black Hawk During Deadly Collision Was Far Too Risky, Safety Officials Say

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy speaks about the recent midair collision of an American Airlines flight and a Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, at a news conference in Washington.

Federal crash investigators have said a helicopter route used by an Army Black Hawk for training when it crashed midair with a passenger aircraft over Washington, D.C., in late January, killing all aboard, poses a major aviation risk and called for immediate changes. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters Tuesday afternoon that […]

VMI Board Opted Out of Extending First Black Superintendent's Contract

Virginia Military Institute Superintendent, Cedric T. Wins

RICHMOND, Va. — Retired Army Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins will step down in June from his post as the first Black superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute after the school’s board voted against extending his contract Friday. In a 10-6 vote, the school’s Board of Visitors, an advisory group appointed by the governor, opted […]

Army Cuts Outreach at Girls School After Dropping Recruiting at Black Engineering Event

Ashley Hall students explore the world of STEM

The Army has severed a long-standing partnership with Ashley Hall, an all-girls preparatory school in Charleston, South Carolina, as the Pentagon radically recalibrates its approach to diversity under President Donald Trump. For the first time since 2017, the Army Corps of Engineers will not participate in Ashley Hall’s annual “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day,” […]

Investigators Say Black Hawk Altitude Gauges May Have Been Inaccurate Prior to Deadly DC Airplane Collision

Salvage crews pull up a part of a Black Hawk helicopter near the site.

A three-person Army Black Hawk helicopter crew may not have received accurate altitude readings in their cockpit or an important transmission from air traffic control before the deadly crash with a passenger aircraft over Washington, D.C., late last month, according to investigators. During a press conference Friday afternoon, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy […]

Investigators Examine Altitude Data in Black Hawk and Passenger Jet Collision

A piece of wreckage is lifted from the water onto a salvage vessel, near the site in the Potomac River of a mid-air collision

ARLINGTON, Va. — The remains of all 67 victims of last week’s midair collision of an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter near the nation’s capital have been recovered, authorities said Tuesday. All but one has been identified. Meanwhile the NTSB said it was examining new data that could put the helicopter above its […]

Final Soldier Killed in Black Hawk Collision Identified as Family, Friends Grieve

Capt. Rebecca Lobach smiles in the cockpit of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on Feb. 28, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Samantha Brown)

The Army on Saturday identified a pilot who was among three soldiers who died when their Black Hawk helicopter collided with a passenger airplane over Washington, D.C., this week, after the service initially withheld the name at the request of the family amid online speculation over her identity. Capt. Rebecca Lobach, 28, of Durham, North […]