Immediately after the horrific crash between the military Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane in Washington, D.C., on January 29, 2025, opinions of all kinds were thrown around as high octane speculation became the order of the day.
But now, after several days, there are a few curious facts worth mentioning.
One: The helicopter was on a training mission for “continuity of government” [COG].
The story hasn’t got much play, but it’s out there, as in the Reuters article “Crashed US Army Black Hawk unit was responsible for doomsday readiness”:
The Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a passenger jet in Washington on Wednesday was on a training flight along a route core to a seldom-discussed military mission to evacuate senior officials to safety in the event of an attack on the U.S., officials say.
The military mission, known as ‘continuity of government’ and ‘continuity of operations,’ is meant to preserve the ability of the U.S. government to operate.”
COG protocols are many and mighty peculiar, and, in case of emergency — such as war, natural disaster, civilizational collapse — are designed to kick in when disaster strikes.
They are not supposed to cause disaster themselves — though they are so murky and shrouded in hush-hush that they sometimes cast a dubious, minatory shadow over the news.
Two: Prior to the collision, on previous nights, helicopter interference with airliner flight paths had interrupted two airliner landing attempts, which had to be re-attempted.
So it seems that the COG folks have gotten careless, and their carelessness was a known issue.
Tower management and personnel did nothing to correct it.
On Friday the FAA forbade helicopter traffic in the region.
Three: The name of the Black Hawk pilot has been withheld from the public at the request of family. Considering that President Trump himself criticized the flying of the craft, this privacy request is hardly shocking.
All passengers and crew of the American Airlines flight died, as did the three crew members of the Black Hawk.
UPDATE: Rumors in the press and online that the pilot was a “trans woman,” named in the press, are now reported as definitely untrue.
