Oliver Wells
A passenger jet flying from Wichita, KS collided with a Black Hawk military helicopter near the Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. Wednesday (01/29) night in what has been described by monopoly media as two fireballs colliding. No survivors are expected as dozens of bodies have so far been recovered. The passenger jet had been carrying 60 passengers and 4 crew members and the Black Hawk military helicopter carried 3 US soldiers.
All flights in the DC area were immediately grounded and a recovery operation remains underway. The crash took place less than 4 miles away from the Capitol and White House despite the tightly monitored airspace.
The passenger jet had to make an emergency landing after quickly losing altitude over the Potomac River. The military helicopter was on a training flight out of Fort Belvoir in Virginia. Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation, reported that both aircraft were on their regular flight patterns.
Airport congestion has become a more dangerous problem across the country. Maximization of profits coupled with increased militarization have led to more civilian and military flights around airports and an increased likelihood of crashes.
In recent years, top airline monopoly Delta Airlines has been lobbying along with dozens of politicians to increase the number of flights to Reagan National Airport where it holds a lucrative share. Lobbyists and politicians have pushed to amend a 1966 law that limits direct flights into the airport to reduce congestion and manage competition among the monopolies with the nearby Washington Dulles airport. The route the American Airlines passenger jet was flying had just been added last year at the behest of dozens of politicians.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, in 2024 alone there were at least 8 near-midair collisions at Reagan National Airport.
Now those same politicians and others who have profited off the increased congestion have offered nothing but their prayers. Lobbyists continue to push for increasing the number of flights for airports to make more profits faster, disregarding the loss of life as a collateral in their accumulation of capital.
Maximization of profits in the construction and sale of passenger jets has also compromised flight safety. Several notable malfunctions with Boeing airplanes last year led to emergency landings and a deadly crash that killed nearly 200.
Image: Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
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