Washington Plane Crash: Military Aircraft Crashed During Special Mission Preparation

United States military officials said on Wednesday (January 29th) that the Black Hawk helicopter which collided with a commercial plane in Washington was conducting a training flight mission at the time, in preparation for a little-known military mission to evacuate senior officials to safe zones in the event of a terrorist attack in the United States.

This military mission, known as “the continuity of government” and “the continuity of operations,” aims to maintain the operational capability of the United States government in the event of an attack, with helicopters frequently shuttling important figures over Washington.

Newly appointed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth revealed during a White House press conference on Thursday that the Black Hawk crew members were “conducting annual routine retraining for the completion of the ‘continuity of government’ mission with night flights along standard corridors.”

Such missions are rarely discussed publicly. The military stated that the operations of the battalion are highly sensitive, and it is not appropriate to explain to the public why they were conducting nighttime operations near a busy airport.

The three soldiers who lost their lives in the crash belonged to the 12th Aviation Battalion at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, one of their responsibilities being evacuating Pentagon officials in times of crisis.

During the incident, the Black Hawk crew members were equipped with night vision goggles as they carried out training missions along Route 4 above the Potomac River.

Jonathan Koziol, Chief of Staff of the Army Aviation Command, stated, “Some of their missions are to provide support to the Department of Defense in the event of a serious incident in the region and to transfer our senior leaders.”

It is said that the last time the U.S. government initiated “continuity of operations” was during the 2001 9/11 attacks, where hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, resulting in nearly 3000 deaths. Reuters has reported on some actions of the 12th Aviation Battalion on that day.

Bradley Bowman, a former Army Aviation officer, was part of the 12th Aviation Battalion on 9/11, helping transport some senior leaders from Washington to “secure locations.”

That night, Bowman piloted a Black Hawk helicopter to pick up then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and return him to the Pentagon. They encountered a problem – the helicopter landing pad used for VIP transport at the Pentagon had been destroyed.

Bowman said, “We had to relocate and land on Interstate 395, which was closed at the time,” referring to Interstate 395 that surrounds the Pentagon.

A book published in 2017 quoted Wolfowitz describing how he went to a “bizarre location prepared for nuclear war survivors.”

The author of the book, Garrett Graff, said the location was called the Raven Rock Mountain Complex or “Site R,” located just a few miles from Camp David. Currently, it remains one of the three main backup facilities for the U.S. government and a primary facility for use by Pentagon leadership.

Graff said, “It’s now 100% operational, with about 100-person team in Raven Rock ready to act at any moment to help maintain government operations.”

(This article references a report by Reuters)