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Russian warship fires flares at Danish helicopter

Richard Connor

Denmark has summoned Russia's ambassador over a Baltic Sea encounter that Copenhagen says is part of an increasingly aggressive pattern of Russian behavior.



Denmark's military uses the related Fennec helicopter for tasks including surveillance and reconnaissance

Image: gemeinfrei


A Russian warship fired two flares toward a Danish military helicopter in the Baltic Sea, with one passing close to the aircraft, Denmark's armed forces said on Tuesday.

The confrontation comes amid heightened security concerns on NATO's eastern flank during Russia's war in Ukraine.
How has Denmark responded?

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the incident fitted a broader pattern of increasingly aggressive Russian behavior in Europe.

She accused Moscow of intensifying its "hybrid war against Europe" and testing and challenging NATO, and called on European countries to strengthen their defenses.

"Reckless action from Russia towards Danish military during a routine overflight yesterday. Russian actions are meant to intimidate and divide. They will not succeed. We will not waver," Frederiksen said in a statement on X.

NTSB meets on 2025 Washington mid-air collision

Unmanned Black Hawk helicopter DARPA gives Sikorsky $6 million to develop

NC native, UNC grad among 3 aboard Black Hawk killed in crash at Reagan Airport: CBS 28-year-old Rebecca Lobach was from Durham.

NC native, UNC grad among 3 aboard Black Hawk killed in crash at Reagan Airport: CBS
28-year-old Rebecca Lobach was from Durham.

Author: Jeremy Vernon
Published: 7:00 PM EST February 1, 2025
Updated: 8:29 PM EST February 1, 2025


WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — One of the three people flying in the Black Hawk helicopter that was involved in the crash with an American Airlines flight Wednesday night at Reagan International Airport has been identified as a North Carolina native, according to CBS News.

The Army said 28-year-old Rebecca Lobach, from Durham, was one of those killed in Wednesday's tragic events. A friend told CBS News that she enlisted in the North Carolina Army National Guard in December 2018 when she was in college.

Credit: AP
This image provided by the U.S. Army shows Cpt. Rebecca M. Lobach, of Durham, N.C. (U.S. Army via AP)

Lobach attended Sewanee: The University of the South before later graduating with a degree in biology from UNC-Chapel Hill as a distinguished military graduate in 2019, the friend said.

After enlisting in the Army as an aviation officer in July 2019, Lobach was awarded several recognitions, including the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.

The friend also told CBS News that Loback served as a White House social aide during Joe Biden's presidency.

The two other soldiers aboard the Black Hawk have been identified as 39-year-old Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves of Maryland and 28-year-old Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O'Hara of Maryland.

In total, over 60 people were killed in the crash.

Source

Army withholds name of Captain in plane crash after Trump blames diversity

The 2 aircraft that collided over Washington are both workhorses in use around the world

Two Sikorsky UH-60 “Black Hawk” helicopters approach during the annual Han Kuang military exercises that simulates an attack on an airfield at Taoyuan International Airport in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, Wednesday, July 26, 2023. (AP Photo/ Chiang Ying-ying)

This photo provided by shows American Airlines jet, tail no. N709PS at the Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pa., May 27, 2021. (Nicholas Toto/610 Aviation via AP)

BY CURT ANDERSON
Updated 8:30 PM EST, January 30, 2025Share


▶ Follow live updates on President Donald Trump’s return to Washington

The Army helicopter and regional American Airlines jet that collided over Washington are both workhorse aircraft that operate around the world on a daily basis.

There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the jet, a Bombardier CRJ-700, officials said. Three service members were on a training flight on the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. None are believed to have survived the Wednesday night collision, which caused both aircraft to plunge into the frigid Potomac River.

What to know about the aircraft:

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk

There are about 5,000 Black Hawks in use around the world, according to the aviation site FlightGlobal.com. The twin-engine, four-blade helicopter is manufactured by Sikorsky, a subsidiary of defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

The aircraft involved in Wednesday’s collision was an Army version. There are other variants made for the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, and for specialized duty such as intelligence gathering.

The Black Hawk made its debut in 1979. The helicopters have been involved in numerous U.S. military operations, including the raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in May 2011, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the invasions of Panama and Grenada.

It is perhaps best known as the namesake aircraft in the 2001 war film “Black Hawk Down,” about a U.S. helicopter shot down in Mogadishu, Somalia, during the civil war there. Others have crashed over the years on training missions.

Bombardier CRJ-700

The passenger jet was manufactured by Quebec, Canada-based conglomerate Bombardier Inc. The CRJ program was sold in June 2020 to the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which no longer makes them but continues to produce parts.

The twin-engine aircraft comes in several versions capable of seating between 68 and 78 passengers. It is a commonly used regional aircraft used for medium and shorter flights, with more than 900 produced since it was introduced in May 1999.

Bombardier said in 2015 that the CRJ-700 series accounted for 20% of all departure flights in North America, with about 200,000 flights per month.


The plane in Wednesday’s crash was registered as N530EA and manufactured in 2010, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The jet was operated by an American Airlines subsidiary, PSA Airlines.

Source

Report: Abnormal Staffing Conditions in DCA Tower During Crash

A leaked FAA report suggests there was unusual staffing in the air traffic control tower during the D.C. airplane and helicopter crash.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Photo: Shutterstock | TJ Brown)

[Airports]  January 30, 2025 4:27 pm ET

By Caleb Revill

A leaked internal report said that staffing at the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport was “not normal” during the deadly midair collision in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.

The New York Times report stated that the controller who was directing helicopter traffic around the airport on Wednesday night was also instructing airplanes. The report noted these jobs are typically assigned to two different controllers at the airport.

67 people were killed between the soldiers aboard the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and PSA Airlines flight 5342 when they collided over the Potomac River.
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So far, only the pilots on board the PSA flight have been identified as 28-year-old Sam Lilley and 34-year-old Jonathan Campos.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident. President Donald Trump said in a press briefing Thursday morning that he believed DEI policies at the Federal Aviation Administration were to blame for the crash.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) – which represents FAA controllers – released a statement on Thursday grieving for the deceased and supporting air traffic controllers.
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“NATCA stands with the highly trained, highly skilled air traffic controller workforce and those who perform safety-critical work 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week, 365 days-a-year and keeps the United States as the gold standard for aviation safety,” NATCA said in its news release emailed to AirlineGeeks.

“NATCA has been and remains supportive of taking all possible steps to ensure America has the best and safest air traffic control system in the world,” the organization added. “We will be a ready partner with the administration and Congress in any effort to further modernize the ATC system to maximize safety and protect lives.”

Source

LIVE COVERAGE: Plane crash at DCA | FOX 5 DC

Plane crash at DCA (Reagan Washington National Airport) | FOX 5 DC

US Launches Massive Number of Feared AH-64s for Intense Aerial Mission