FAA closes Washington route, DOGE cuts
The FAA has announced it will permanently shut down helicopter flights in the DC area on the same route that brought down an American Airlines plane on January 29, killing all aboard both aircraft.
Before the collision, there were 28 government agencies authorized to fly helicopters near Reagan National, including the Department of Defense, military services, law enforcement and emergency medical services.
The Army Black Hawk involved in the January crash belonged to the 12th Aviation Battalion based at Davison Army Air Field at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. That unit has a classified mission to ensure continuity of government by getting certain officials to safety in case of an attack.
Think evacuating critical personnel in an emergency – as fast a direct flight to the White House or wherever, pick up the VIPs, and scoot. Unfortunately the route between base and the pickup points lies right across approach paths to Reagan International, and the traditional bandaid is to restrict the choppers to 200 feet AGL when under the flight path. As we saw then – not necessarily a foolproof solution.
In a letter to Braman (Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, director of Army aviation – ed.), Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz pressed for answers on whether the Army Black Hawks regularly operate without transmitting location data, and how many flights it regularly conducted to transport dignitaries and high-ranking officers.
The FAA also said it is studying cities with airports where there are a high number of different types of aircraft sharing the same space, including eight metro areas with busy helicopter routes: Boston, New York, Baltimore-Washington, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles.
Still doesn’t quite address what went wrong in the crash, I guess, but it does reduce the likelihood of a repeat.Military Times
Tip o’ the hat (and a big slice o’ pi since I write this on Pi day) to Jeff LPH.
DOGE says that in two days they canceled contracts with a max value of about $1,700,000,000.
Among them included an $8.5 million consulting contract for “fiscal stewardship to improve management and program operations in order to drive innovation and improve efficiency and effectiveness of business services; rethink, realign and reskill the workforce; and enhance program delivery through a number of transformational initiatives.”
Huh? Anyone playing buzzword bingo? I think you just won.
On Tuesday, DOGE announced the National Institutes of Health canceled multiple federal grants related to trans and sexual identity. Those include $699,000 for studying “cannabis use” among “sexual minority gender diverse individuals” and $620,000 for “an LGB+ inclusive teen pregnancy prevention program for transgender boys,” DOGE said.
Transgender boys, meaning girls who want a schwanz, right? Answer – jerk off if ya got one, quit letting guys screw ya if you don’t. You’re a guy? Don’t let guys screw ya. No charge for the solution.
Another included $225,000 in federal funds for the University of Colorado to study the “effects of hormones on headaches in transmasculine adolescents.”
On Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins noted that a $379,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant in the San Francisco Bay Area to educate queer, trans and BIPOC urban farmers and consumers about food justice and values-aligned markets had been canceled.
Food justice?
And an even bigger birthday wish today to my buddy Bill, who turns gawdamighty old today on the Ides of March. I think he is damn near as old as the Caesar reference, and was my squad leader about 48 years ago.
Category: "Teh Stoopid", Army
Gotta wonder if “continuity of government” is a good thing or not…’specially when someone thought it would be a good idea to have whirlybirds flying in/out/around about flight paths of passenger planes. Or having a dei hire with limited flight time ’cause her social scheduling was more important than doing the job she was supposedly trained for. Yeah, this has been allowed to die a quiet death, unlike the innocents that died when the ‘bird went into the airliner.
The despots ALL had their fingers in the “pie” and DOGE has sliced it all off. And, betcha, betcha, there’s a bunch of senators today that would like to do to Trump as the other senators did to old JC.
There may be some confirmation bias on my part, but I blame the legislative branch that has made big pushes to keep National up and running with a large number of flights.
because it is convenient for them. Some of the new reports ATC transcripts i reviewed lead me to believe this was an accident waiting to happen.
I agree 1000% with you, Good Sir. God forbid that the Kongress Klown Kritters and Perfumed Princes add a few minutes to their travel time by coming into Dulles. ALL of my sympathies are with the passenger plane. They, and the plane’s crew had every expectation of a safe landing in controlled airspace. The Whirly Bird “Instructor” Pilot? A little for him (his family actually), he knew the job could be dangerous when he took it. That whole “training for war is as dangerous as the war” thing. His bad “luck of the draw” that he got picked for Ms Thang Social Secretary’s “check ride”. Going by what info has been dribbled out it seems as if the majority of the blame is gonna fall on her f*cking up.
And I’m not sure why we should have a big push to move TPTB around in hurry for the “Continuity of Government”. In a “Doomsday Scenario” there won’t be time to scramble enough birds to get the bastards out and in that case the bastards are probably the cause of a Doomsday Scenario (alluded to in Forstchen’s “One Second After” Series) and deserve to die along with their serfs. Where’s a pissed of widebody driver and Jack Ryan when we need him? Start over again in Lebanon, Kansas (geographic center of the “lower 48”), or Belle Fourche, SD (geographic center adding in AK and HI). That way we can go back to having the US Capitol equal distance from all parts of the country.
Las Vegas should be another city for the FAA
to look at
Nice pic of the table with all the chow on it. I see a slice of Pizza on the tray, and speaking of Pizza, how about
Norman Fox and the Rob-Roys out of the Bronx singing
“Piza Pie” 1958 on the Hammer label. Nice little novelty song
Was remembering an old novelty song that spoofed “Teenager in Love” where it said
Each night I ask the stars without fail
Why must I be a teenager in jail?
DOGE needs to check out some of those All-Points Logistics contracts and shut down the Phil Monkress gravy train.
One of Phildoes Fellows must have down dooted you. You are still getting on his nerves.
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