Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday the Pentagon has not responded to his inquiries about last week’s Army helicopter that forced two commercial passenger jets landing at Reagan Washington National Airport to shift course.
When Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked if he had any additional information from the Pentagon about the flyover, Duffy said, “I don’t.
MacCallum noted she didn’t understand why the Pentagon “hasn’t gotten back to you on this yet. But we hope they sure do soon.”
“So do I,” Duffy replied.
U.S. Army spokesperson Capt. Victoria Goldfedib told The Hill that while conducting flight operations into the Pentagon in accordance with published Federal Aviation Administration flight routes and National Airport air traffic control, a UH-60 Black Hawk initiated a “go-around” after Pentagon air traffic control told them they were not cleared to land, overflying the Pentagon helipad while maintaining all approved flight procedures.
As a result, National Airport air traffic control issued a “go-around” to two commercial fixed-wing aircraft to ensure the appropriate deconfliction of airspace.
“The United States Army remains committed to aviation safety and conducts flight operations within all approved guidelines and procedures,” Goldfedib said.
Some reports said VIPs were on board the aircraft, which is why it was approved to enter airspace by National Airport.
“But who qualifies for a VIP? Is it a two-star general, a three-star general?” Duffy asked in the segment.
Helicopter operations near the airport were restricted in March after a deadly collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane killed 67 people in January.
“I want to commend Secretary Hegseth. He closed down those HELO missions for two weeks,” Duffy told Fox.
“We’re going to look at it together and figure out what is the pathway forward. So they’re not flying right now. And we should know as Americans, again, it’s a civilian military,” he added.
“They’re supposed to work for all of us. We should know who qualifies for that VIP mission. And if you’re going to train, why are you training in the middle of the day? Maybe you should train at 2 o’clock in the morning or 3 o’clock in the morning.”
