IT’S BEEN a drama-filled couple of week for MSM and social media alike. Hard on the heels of California’s apocalypse came the collision of an American Airways regional passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington DC. Following all the speculation and theories, the best analyses and commentaries I have come across are The Tragedy of Crossed Lines on the Potomac by Daniel Jupp, and this by John Leake on Peter McCullough’s Courageous Discourse website, reasserting President Trump’s simple truth – that the helicopter was flying too high.
On a personal note, I trained in the US as a private pilot, and the crash in Washington raises some serious questions.
First, though, we must understand the basic differences of aircraft. An aeroplane develops lift from its wings by creating a difference between air pressure above the wing and below. To do this wing shape is crucial, and so is speed. A helicopter flies because it creates constant downdraft, which is why it can hover. An aeroplane can’t do that.
As a student pilot, I was cleared for take-off and was doing so to climb to 1,000 feet and turn north west. This took me straight through a designated helicopter route. I would be climbing through it. On this occasion air traffic control (ATC) stopped a helicopter and told it to hover. It was at around 600 feet. The helicopter saw me as ‘traffic in sight’ and obeyed ATC. Thus there was no conflict. In effect, helicopters have brakes when flying.
Any big airport in USA has ‘controlled airspace’. No aircraft, civil or military, can fly into this zone without permission. Even small airports with ATC have a grade of airspace control. Military aircraft are required to stay in touch with ATC on the main designated frequency for that airport.
All controlled airspace looks like an upside down wedding cake. The highest level of designated control, big commercial airports, control their airspace right up to the edge of space. Smaller airports don’t go that high. The control radius area gets bigger the higher you go.
So the crash immediately makes me ask why the military flight needed to be in the controlled airspace? And if it did acknowledge the ATC traffic warning, why did it not hover to avoid the aircraft on final approach? Did the crew really need to be told by ATC to do this? Further, the helicopter, however busy it was in the cockpit, should have had someone keeping a visual check outside. Especially on a training flight.
At the time of the crash, ATC at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was manned by one very overworked person trying to do the job of two people. Washington DC ATC is said to be 30 per cent understaffed.
Like all accidents there are innocent parties and a combination of factors. My heart goes out to all the people who got killed, and to the poor ATC controller who was trying to carry too much workload. The controller is likely to be traumatised for many years.
The battle of the borders
Watching Fox News’s Laura Ingraham the other day reporting on the crash took me to the final segment of the programme where she introduced Kristi Noem, the new US Secretary of Homeland Security, an iron fist in a velvet glove. Noem took the opportunity to issue a warning to ‘blue city’ officials as the immigration crackdown heats up.
You can watch here.
Clayton Morris of Redacted was happy to report that Donald Trump’s ‘don’t mess with us or else’ policy has been taking immediate effect – Colombia U-turning within an hour of Trump’s tariffs threats and accepting its people back as they are deported from the US. Readers may have missed the ‘surrendering’ Colombian President’s rant that came in response.
You can watch it here on Tousi TV.
Now Trudeau surrenders, Canada’s on the way out PM, and has bent the knee to Trump as the Chief Nerd reports and has decided to commit to a $1.3billion border plan.
More reporting by Clayton Morris of Redacted on the southern border wars. First up, ‘It’s GAME ON at the US border’. Americans aren’t ready for what’s coming from Tom Homen, Trump’s new border czar, he warns, as thousands of illegal immigrants busted through checkpoints.
Watch here:
Clayton also reported how ‘Venezuela declared WAR on US Border Agents’, that it’s ‘open season’, with construction happening in real time on the US southern border wall.
See here:
We only hope that President Trump will prove as tough on Bill Gates as he is on migrants and put a halt to his evil mandatory mRNA vaccines every six months plans and credit score system planned to ensure compliance as well as jail for ‘vaccine hesitancy’. What a freedom lover the billionaire is!
Meanwhile Britain welcomes more migrants with open arms
Amongst the many benefits offered – clothing, hotels, food and allowances – Afghan immigrants in Banbury are being given £1,000 towards driving lessons by the great and the good of Banbury. Clown World YT reports.
While Trump targets his ‘Rock-’Em-Sock-’Em Presidency’, as Dan Bongino describes it below, and takes a hammer to the deep state – just enjoy this episode of his programme and envy the life, energy and sheer ‘pzazz’ in the US media that is, sadly, non-existent in broadcast form over here.
Some huge breaking news from the other side of the pond as we go to press – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moves forward to a full Senate vote for HHS Secretary after a 14-13 vote in the Senate Finance Committee.
Over here and in the EU it’s all too tragically depressing
First this revelation of West Yorkshire Police massive DEI waste (expenditure) no doubt repeated over the other side of Pennines in Greater Manchester where ‘THEY WANT YOU DEAD‘ and as Mark Steyn writes in his Tuesday notebook: ‘Two-Tier Britain degenerates day on day. We know Greater Manchester is a corrupt cr…hole . . . Even so, Assistant Chief Constable Stephanie Parker feels it’s time to take it to the next level.
As Mark reported the day before, ‘Koran-burner Salwan Momika was murdered during a livestream from Sweden, and so, in solidarity with the deceased, a Manchester man decided to burn a Koran of his own. Assistant Chief Constable Parker swiftly had her goons take him into custody and then leaned on him to cop a plea. However, as some commenters noticed yesterday, she then decided that the Islamophobic whippersnapper could use a bloody good doxxing:
#CHARGED | Martin Frost (10/03/1977) from Trafford has been charged with causing racially & religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm, distress
He’s been remanded in custody & will appear at Manchester Magistrates Court today (03/02/25)
More: https://t.co/TTgTwRTxT8 pic.twitter.com/V4hmx6UYNc— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) February 3, 2025
‘Is that inclusion of the accused’s date of birth standard procedure for GMP?’ Mark asks, ‘Or just for “Islamophobes” that Assistant Chief W. . ker Parker wants to teach a lesson?’
And as Steyn points out leaving this man horribly exposed.
It’s not much better in Germany where the AfD is threatened with banning. Tousi TV reports here.
Leaving open the question of Elon Musk’s support of Alice Weidel’s AfD, as reported by Steve Turley below, help or imperil her party.
The Duran discuss the German elections being held on Sunday February 23. Fingers crossed, AfD.
Gold – and another financial crisis looming?
Alasdair Macleod warned last Friday, as gold rose above $2,800 an ounce rather than doing its Friday dip as traders close out their positions, this week might prove lively.
Here Rafi Farber and Alasdair Macleod predict a financial crisis:
Alasdair Macleod is here on the ‘Credit Crisis in 3, 2, 1’:
Meanwhile maneco 64 reports that Bank of England gold deliveries are delayed and why this is serious.
Here Bill Holter outlines his gloomy picture of the financial future:
After all that gloom an upbeat note to end on
Britain’s rising star politician, Reform MP Rupert Lowe’s forthright (and funny) speech to the party’s North West Essex rally last weekend.
