AA / Blackhawk Crash and other Crash and FAA News
- Thread starter dukeman92
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In Philadelphia? Yup.
Nationally? Nope.
Just like we wouldn’t have had drone stories every day but for the first stories. Or the mysterious balloons after the Chinese spy ballon.
Or have you ever noticed that cops shooting citizen stories always come in bunches? Do you think cops aren’t shooting citizens the rest of the time? Nope. It is just that the media chooses to focus on a story and then anything remotely similar gets amplified.
You specifically said in your post the Philadelphia crash would not be news worthy.
I thought it was fairly implied that I meant national news story; i.e. something that would be discussed on this page.
A small plane crash is the classic local news story. But I don’t consider that “newsworthy” in the bigger sense of the word.
superrific
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circlesky88
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Plane was headed to Mexico with a child patient, her mother, and four others on board. Child had been treated for a life-threatening condition and was on the way home.
1moretimeagain
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BlooVooDoo
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A single engine, propeller driven aircraft is one thing. Those are mostly personal aircraft. A twin engine business jet going down is always going to be newsworthy.
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Heartbreaking coverage of the lives lost in the Potomac crash (unfortunately no gift link option):
dukeman92
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You can’t be serious. You really think a plane slamming into the ground at 280mph in one of the largest cities in America, resulting in a massive fireball and the destruction of half a neighborhood wouldn’t be newsworthy?
Lmao…
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the real heaven and hell are here on earth
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I think he is partly right — while I agree with you that the Philly story has all the elements that it would have been covered as a national story on its own, I think the National mood and wall to wall coverage of the DC crash creates additional coverage and heightened emotional response to the Philly crash.
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I lived in NYC when TWA Flight 800 went down. That summer I worked on Ward’s Island and realized I needed change for the weird toll to get there (exit off a bridge half way across the East River), so I stopped on 125th St in Harlem to get change from a news stand. There was a gaggle of people gathered there talking about the crash, many sure it had been shot down by a SAM by terrorists. It was a memorable experience.
As it happened, we had a vacation coming up in Long Island — the first trip I ever scheduled using the internet, in fact. The motel owner (my husband and I were students stretching his stipend and credit cards, so it was a small, family owned motel that I am sure is long gone) was really shocked the internet thing had worked — he told me at check in that he had signed up via a traveling salesman who dropped in promoting it and was so glad to see me because he wasn’t sure what type of person would be using that kind of thing).
Anyway, further digression aside, we ended up staying in walking distance from where they were pulling Flight 800 out of the water from a bridge/causeway. They were working it all week we were there. Over 200 people died in that crash. It was so eerie to see but people were working quietly and hard as long as there was daylight.
As it happened, we had a vacation coming up in Long Island — the first trip I ever scheduled using the internet, in fact. The motel owner (my husband and I were students stretching his stipend and credit cards, so it was a small, family owned motel that I am sure is long gone) was really shocked the internet thing had worked — he told me at check in that he had signed up via a traveling salesman who dropped in promoting it and was so glad to see me because he wasn’t sure what type of person would be using that kind of thing).
Anyway, further digression aside, we ended up staying in walking distance from where they were pulling Flight 800 out of the water from a bridge/causeway. They were working it all week we were there. Over 200 people died in that crash. It was so eerie to see but people were working quietly and hard as long as there was daylight.
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GIFT LINK
—> https://www.wsj.com/politics/nation...c8?st=HZzo82&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink“… The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday indefinitely suspended most helicopters from flying near Reagan National, and the Army ordered the 12th Aviation Battalion, the unit involved in the accident, to suspend flights until Saturday, later amended by the Transportation Department to extend until after the National Transportation Safety Board completes its initial investigation into the crash, likely weeks away.
A group of congressional lawmakers representing districts surrounding the airport, however, asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a letter Friday to extend the pause indefinitely and conduct a comprehensive safety review.
The Army on Friday identified two of the Black Hawk aviators—Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Md., and Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Ga. The Army didn’t name the third crew member, a woman, at the request of her family, an unusual move by the military. …”
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Continued
“… The 12th Aviation Battalion, based at nearby Fort Belvoir, Va., has a decadeslong history of flying top officials in and out of hot spots, from Vietnam to Lebanon. Today, the unit operates primarily inside the U.S., and is also responsible for “continuity of operations plan,” to allow the government to continue operating should an event, like 9/11, take place.
It also ferries top military and other officials in and around the nation’s capital in helicopters known as “gold tops” because they are specially painted to highlight their mission. Gold tops have become in effect a high-end air taxi service for Washington VIPs, taking passengers to bases and other locations in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland and in some cases, beyond.
… Army helicopters sometimes ferry two- and three-star generals from Fort Belvoir to the Pentagon, shaving 45 minutes or more off a trip by car, said Andrew Logan, a Washington resident who co-founded Helicopters of DC, a website that tracks helicopter operations.
… The Army battalion’s role is a critical one, military officials said, and transporting top military officers to make more efficient use of their time is largely necessary, not an entitlement, especially when they need to get to between meetings outside the region, and then return to the Pentagon or the White House, said one retired senior aviation officer.
But the crash has prompted debate about how that role should be carried out in the congested airspace around the nation’s capital, particularly close to Reagan National, which is notorious among pilots for its short runways, heavy congestion, and subject to airspace restrictions near the White House and Pentagon. …”
“… The 12th Aviation Battalion, based at nearby Fort Belvoir, Va., has a decadeslong history of flying top officials in and out of hot spots, from Vietnam to Lebanon. Today, the unit operates primarily inside the U.S., and is also responsible for “continuity of operations plan,” to allow the government to continue operating should an event, like 9/11, take place.
It also ferries top military and other officials in and around the nation’s capital in helicopters known as “gold tops” because they are specially painted to highlight their mission. Gold tops have become in effect a high-end air taxi service for Washington VIPs, taking passengers to bases and other locations in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland and in some cases, beyond.
… Army helicopters sometimes ferry two- and three-star generals from Fort Belvoir to the Pentagon, shaving 45 minutes or more off a trip by car, said Andrew Logan, a Washington resident who co-founded Helicopters of DC, a website that tracks helicopter operations.
… The Army battalion’s role is a critical one, military officials said, and transporting top military officers to make more efficient use of their time is largely necessary, not an entitlement, especially when they need to get to between meetings outside the region, and then return to the Pentagon or the White House, said one retired senior aviation officer.
But the crash has prompted debate about how that role should be carried out in the congested airspace around the nation’s capital, particularly close to Reagan National, which is notorious among pilots for its short runways, heavy congestion, and subject to airspace restrictions near the White House and Pentagon. …”
dukeman92
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Creates additional coverage and completely not newsworthy are not the same.
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I disagree. That Philly plane crash happened in a densely populated area of a major city. And sadly, on top of that it was a medical transport jet carrying a mother and child. That’s a national story.
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dukeman92
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What to Know
- A medical transport jet carrying a child patient, her mother and four others crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood about 30 seconds after taking off, erupting in a fireball and engulfing several homes in flames.
- The crash occurred shortly after 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, near the intersection of Roosevelt Boulevard and Cottman Avenue. Multiple videos obtained by NBC10 show the plane plummeting from the sky, crashing to the ground and a massive explosion shortly after. Multiple homes in the area caught fire.
- According to the FAA, the plane was a Learjet 55 that left Northeast Philadelphia Airport and was headed for Springfield-Branson National Airport and stopping in Missouri before traveling to its final destination of Tijuana, Mexico.
- A girl who was returning to Mexico after receiving treatment for a life-threatening illness in the U.S. was among the six people on board the flight. The girl's mother, a pilot, copilot, doctor and paramedic were also on board.
- Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which operated the Learjet 55, said in a statement: “We cannot confirm any survivors.” There was no immediate word whether anyone on the ground was killed, but at least six people were treated for injuries at a hospital.
- The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation. The NTSB said an investigator arrived and more officials would be there Saturday.
- A shelter for those impacted by the crash opened at Samuel Fels High School on 5500 Langdon Street in Philadelphia.
SnoopRob
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Heartbreaking coverage of the lives lost in the Potomac crash (unfortunately no gift link option):
My oldest, in college, traveled a good bit this past summer. Something like this is the part I tried very, very hard not to think about.
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