Plane crash in Washington: helicopter was 'taxi' for VIPs
The crashed plane (photo: Getty Images)
The Black Hawk army helicopter that crashed into a passenger plane coming in to land in Washington, D.C., was being used as a taxi for VIPs. On that day, it was being tested for readiness to urgently transport the top US leadership to a safe zone in the event of an attack on the capital, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Both pilots were reportedly identified on Friday as Senior Warrant Officer 2nd Class Andrew Lloyd Eaves and Staff Sergeant Ryan Austin O'Hara.
The 12th Aviation Battalion, based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, has been flying into and out of hot spots, from Vietnam to Lebanon, for decades. But now the unit operates mainly within the United States, the WSJ writes.
In particular, it is responsible for the "continuity of operations plan". This allows the government to continue working in the event of events like the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The pilots also transport senior military and other officials to Washington. Gold Tops helicopters have effectively become a high-end air taxi for Washington's VIPs, flying passengers to various locations in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland.
According to Andrew Logan, one of the founders of Helicopters of DC, a website that tracks helicopter operations, Army helicopters sometimes transport three- and four-star generals from Fort Belvoir to the Pentagon.
"I've heard pilots say they like being a taxi for generals," he said.
On January 29, a Bombardier CRJ700 passenger plane and a Black Hawk military helicopter collided in the sky over Washington, D.C., and the wreckage fell into the Potomac River.
The crash killed 67 people - 60 passengers (figure skaters and coaches, including several from Russia) and 4 crew members of the civilian flight, as well as three military personnel in the helicopter.
According to flight records and internal reports, the crash could have been the result of a failure of several levels of the US aviation security apparatus.
