American Eagle – Black Hawk Crash Analyzed ~ Newsmax’s Rick Leventhal & Gene Valentino

 

Gene Valentino on Newsmax The Leventhal Report

 

Newsmax’s Rick Leventhal of The Leventhal Report host long time aviator and Newsmax regular Gene Valentino of the GrassRoots TruthCast to analyze the January 29th crash at Ronald Reagan National Airport. The segment covering the tragic aviation accident involving an American Eagle Flight 5342 and an army Blackhawk helicopter, marking one of the worst US aviation disasters in a quarter-century with at least. With 67 fatalities including the Blackhawk crew and a group of elite figure skaters on the way back from a training camp.

 

Aviation expert Gene Valentino discusses his perspectives on the crash, pilot error, the importance of situational awareness, and potential air traffic control issues. Gene discusses the specifics of flying in high traffic area like the DC metro area. The discussion includes communications between the helicopter and air traffic control, and training specifics of the Blackhawk pilots.

 

Dive into this continuing story…


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FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

American Eagle – Black Hawk Crash Analyzed ~ Newsmax’s Rick Leventhal & Gene Valentino

Chris Ruddy: [00:00:00] This is Chris Ruddy, and I love Gene Valentino’s GrassRoots TruthCast. Make sure you’re tuning in just like I do every day, every week, every minute.

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Rick Leventhal: The American Airlines jet that collided with that army Black Hawk helicopter last night feared dead along with the three soldiers on the Black Hawk. This is the worst US aviation disaster. In almost a quarter century, the helicopter apparently flew into the path of the jet as it was approaching four landing at Ronald Reagan National.

The FAA and NTSB are probing the cause of the crash. At least 28 bodies have been pulled from the cold waters of the Potomac River. so far for a deeper under happened last night over future tragedies like thi Let’s welcome in aviation expert, former commander of [00:02:00] Escambia County Research and Rescue, and host of GrassRoots TruthCast podcast, Gene Valentino.

Gene, welcome to the Leventhal Report.

Gene Valentino: Thank you, Rick. Glad to be with you.

Rick Leventhal: What are your initial thoughts on the crash?

Gene Valentino: Well, my initial thoughts were that yeah, traumatic and devastating and condolences to all those who’ve lost loved ones. But if you put it in perspective, it, it is much less than what we’ve seen on our highway system and other transportation systems.

But nonetheless, it’s a tragedy. I’ve been a pilot for 50 years and being savvy and aware of the risks and perils, especially around high hazard areas, meaning military bases and or congested systems like DCA Reagan International Airport is, is nonetheless requires the full and, and careful transit through those areas.

[00:03:00] So, I don’t make light of it 98 percent of the time I regret to say as a pilot, I’ll be first to admit it. It’s, it’s usually pilot error and and, and, and it full stop right there. We, you, the pilot is ultimately in control and should be aware of his surroundings control towers, personnel issues aside for the second it is an issue, Rick.

Rick Leventhal: Yeah, and to that end, we have a clip of communications between air traffic control and the helicopter Moments before the crash. I want to play that for you now

Confirm seeing the jet. So what went wrong? Well, they,

Gene Valentino: the flight, the black box, as you call them, which are really orange when [00:04:00] recovered from both aircraft will tell us the whole story and there’s no room for speculation. So the data still needs to come in. But I suspect if you’re asking me my opinion, I suspect that the helicopter pilots with the night vision goggles, if they were wearing them had only a 50 degree span in view.

They’re trained well. To pivot and rotate to make sure they see the circumstances around them referred to as situational awareness, and I’m concerned about what the situational awareness was of the helicopter pilots notwithstanding the fact that, as you mentioned earlier, There was a go around a a missed approach that had to happen just the other day for the encroachment of another helicopter too close to the final approach when when that pilot gets authority from the control tower that he has approval to land, [00:05:00] he has the full right of way and access.

to his approach for his landing, and this was controlled airspace. And when you’re in controlled airspace all other aircraft had better be on the same frequency and no firsthand that they must yield to that, that pilot on his final approach flaps down, you’re, you’re laying here, referring,

Rick Leventhal: you’re referring to that Washington post report that 24 hours earlier, another plane.

had to avert landing at Reagan National because of another helicopter that was very close to its path. So the similar, a very similar set of circumstances apparently happened 24 hours earlier. And then it happened again last night with much more fatal results. And it happened, it happened to me three

Gene Valentino: months ago.

Rick Leventhal: Wow. Wow.

Gene Valentino: I had, I had to go, I had to go around because of airspace. Yeah, well, that’s correct. I had to go around myself because [00:06:00] of an aircraft coming out on the runway after I had been given approval to land. You best all be on the same frequency to know that someone’s been just given approval to land.

And now. I admit, I do not know the fact that the specific facts in this situation yet, but it’s true that you must have a full awareness and a standby procedure in place. God forbid, someone else is not paying attention.

Rick Leventhal: Well, it sounds what you’re describing and what happened last night. Sounds more to me like an air traffic control issue than anything else, but I understand You don’t want to go there yet because we don’t have all the facts The new Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was at that Trump news conference And he sheds some light on the Blackhawks training mission.

Listen to this.

Pete Hegseth: It was an annual proficiency training flight And when we look at the crew and we’re not all not all can have been notified So we’re gonna withhold ranks and names at this point. [00:07:00] We do know On our side who was involved It was a fairly experienced crew and it was doing a required annual night evaluation.

They did have night vision goggles.

Rick Leventhal: How surprising is it to have Blackhawk pilots involved in a crash like this? I mean, I know you mentioned those goggles as well, but aren’t they typically well trained and experienced in wearing the goggles and flying at night?

Gene Valentino: In many cases, they have more training than me. I honor them for the regiment they go through.

But you are on specific altitude issues? There is a specific pathway. Remember, the the American Eagle aircraft was had had filed his I. F. R. Flight plan straight into that runway, even though he was on visual was on a visual approach. So the record will show in his management system that’s on the recorder exactly what the altitude and speed.

As I said before, his flight [00:08:00] Flaps down gear down and making his final approach to the runway a very vulnerable situation for for a pilot. He’s at a slower speed. So there’s sometimes less flexibility in the aircraft, especially if there’s crosswinds or fluctuating winds and and it’s very important that everyone yields to that that aircraft on his final approach, but if the military aircraft in the area.

I’m under, I understand, have, and I’ve been part of that pathway on a VFR pathway below the glide slope or above the glide slope, then they’re in good stead. But in this case, Rick, if they’re interfering with or not paying attention to what, what that elevation should be, then they’re putting themselves at risk in a very congested area.

The worst of the worst is right there at DCA. Admittedly, it is, it is very congested.

Rick Leventhal: And you mentioned [00:09:00] at the top how this is rare compared to automobile accidents, people die every day on our highways, in far greater numbers than ever perish in plane crashes, and maybe it’s a miracle, but maybe it’s just because there are far fewer airplanes flying than there are cars on the road, and they’re far, they’re much further apart from each other, they’re not, On top of each other, like we are every single day when we’re driving on our, our highways and byways.

Gene Valentino: Yeah. Well, the FAA has instituted some good disciplines. Recently in the last few years, we have a new procedure that you’ll see in many private pass private air aircraft and commercial. It’s called A DSB. It stands for the A. Dependent surveillance broadcast system. It allows the tower normally has the radar, which is what everyone feeds into and the traffic controller is looking at, which is what you were referring to before.

But the A. D. S. B. System in the aircraft for. for private [00:10:00] passenger aircraft and and commercial aircraft is a system that allows the aircraft between each of them to see each other, whether there’s a control tower or not. And that has been a new technology that has been introduced that I don’t know the military Blackhawks were using or had at their disposal.

In this incident again, the flight recorder will certainly show that. But if they did have that in the air in the Blackhawk, he or she flying that air aircraft, that helicopter would have been more attuned to what the relative proximity was of this commercial American Eagle flight. And that would be independent of the control.

Rick Leventhal: Sorry to cut you off. You mentioned the restricted airspace over Washington, and I wonder because there’s so much of it, would that have affected this because the planes and helicopters are all being forced into a much tighter [00:11:00] flight zone than they would be if it was all open airspace?

Gene Valentino: Well, if it’s all open airspace, it’s an, it’s not class B Bravo or class C Charlie.

It’s usually a class D for Delta, which means you have a more open airspace. Open area to travel, and there’s less some requirements in terms of who you have to radio and talk to to land. In this case, because the congestion is so tight, there are specific disciplines that a licensed pilot. follows to get through that space.

I’m down in the panhandle of florida and I’m going through Pensacola, N. A. S. Pensacola, Eglind, Tyndall Air Force, Hurlburt. And, and, and I’m being handed off. I’m doing what’s called flight following. And, and you talk to the approach control frequency even before you get to the tight areas and you let them know who you are, Where you are and where you’re going and they see you on [00:12:00] their radar and they’re following you through the pattern The question is did the black hawk helicopter do that with the same control tower and approach?

Personnel if the if they did then Back to your first point, which you led off in the broadcast. The app appro the tower, or the approach control personnel would have known more readily who where that black Hawk helicopter was relative to the American Eagle flight. And, but, but they should have known the, the Black Hawk helicopter should have known his proximity to that American Eagle flight.

And that what’s. That’s what needs to be clarified.

Rick Leventhal: Understood. Gene, I’ve been, I’ve been to most of those bases, and to the Panhandle multiple times beautiful area. Come on down, we’ll go flying. Appreciate your expertise on this subject. I would love that. Gene Valentino, thanks very much for joining the show.

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American Eagle – Black Hawk Crash Analyzed ~ Newsmax’s Rick Leventhal & Gene Valentino

Gene Valentino on Newsmax The Leventhal Report

ORIGINAL MEDIA SOURCE(S):

  • Originally Recorded on January 30, 2025
  • America Beyond the Noise: Season 5, Episode 568
  • Image courtesy of: Newsmax
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