Did DEI have something to do with the inexplicable plane-helicopter collision over the Potomac last January, killing 67* people?

It looks like it based on a long, detailed, Page One report from the New York Times.

Oh, they cited a lot of contributing factors that led to the collision, or as the Times might put it, "intersection" of the U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter and a commuter jet from Wichita, bearing many young skaters returning home from a prestigious skating tournament -- the use of a little-used runway for the plane, the air traffic controller being double-booked on duties in the busy airspace, and not issuing an emphatic enough warning. There was an issue with the transom as speakers may not have heard incoming commands. There were the night-vision goggles ...

But they buried the lede near the end: The bottom line was that the helicopter was on autonomous duty to watch what was in front of it, and shockingly, the female pilot with (unmentioned) political connections, and her warrant officer flight instructor didn't seem to be on the same page, with the female pilot on several occasions ignoring things the warrant officer said that would have saved their lives.

Was that DEI?

Anything is possible, but this certainly could explain the outcome.

Number one, she made the mistake as pilot of flying into the commuter aircraft. That's incompetence right there that could be attributed to DEI.

But number two, the DEI situation seemed to affect how the helicopter crew interacted with one another, as well as the air traffic controller.

Based on the report, the details came off as though the female pilot, who had a fancy schmancy title of 'captain' didn't seem to think the lowly warrant officer, who had at least twice as many flight hours as she did, and who was serving as her instructor to get her recertified, was worth listening to, even though he was the guy who was evaluating her piloting skills for her benefit. Was the fix already in? She acted like it. She didn't pay attention to a thing her evaluator said on that flight -- including critical warnings that would have saved lived.

Here was the first sign of trouble:

With so little margin for error — 75 feet or even less — it would be crucial that the Black Hawk fly below the maximum altitude for the route.

Aboard the Black Hawk that night a curious exchange occurred between the two pilots.

Captain [Rebecca M.] Lobach, who by that point had assumed the controls, announced an altitude of 300 feet, according to cockpit voice recordings. [Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd] Eaves then read out an altitude of 400 feet.

The exact time that passed between the statements has not been detailed in N.T.S.B. reports, but records suggest that it was no longer than 39 seconds. And experienced helicopter pilots say that given the ease of mobility in a Black Hawk, the altitude could have changed in fractions of seconds.

But the discrepancy, which neither pilot commented on at the time, was potentially significant.

The F.A.A. mandated an altitude of no higher than 300 feet for that part of the route, meaning that an altitude of 400 feet would have been unacceptable and could have positioned the Black Hawk uncomfortably close to departing or landing airplanes.

Eaves called out a different -- and more damning -- number than Lobach to the controllers? And nobody said anything? Why did Lobach call out the less worrisome number and need to be corrected? And what went on that Eaves had a need to call out what was likely a correct number after her, given the outcome?

Imagine the dynamics in that cockpit.

Then there was this, with the same old Lobach ignoring Eaves going on:

As the helicopter approached the Key Bridge, from which it would fly south along the river, Warrant Officer Eaves stated that it was at 300 feet and descending to 200 feet — necessary because the maximum height for its route closer to the airport had dropped to 200 feet.

But even as it reached that juncture, Warrant Officer Eaves evidently felt obligated to repeat his instruction: The Black Hawk was at 300 feet, he said, and needed to descend.

Captain Lobach said she would. But two and a half minutes later, the Black Hawk still was above 200 feet — a dangerously high level.

Why did he need to repeat that safety issue for the controller? Was it a cry for help? A desire to go on the record if the worst should happen? Seems likely.

Then there was this:

Two seconds after the controller’s cut out instruction about passing behind the jet, Warrant Officer Eaves replied, affirming for the second time that the Black Hawk saw the traffic. “PAT two-five has the aircraft in sight. Request visual separation,” he said.

“Vis sep approved,” the controller replied.

It was their last communication.

The Black Hawk was 15 seconds away from crossing paths with the jet. Warrant Officer Eaves then turned his attention to Captain Lobach.

He told her he believed that air traffic control wanted them to turn left, toward the east river bank.

Turning left would have opened up more space between the helicopter and Flight 5342, which was heading for Runway 33 at an altitude of roughly 300 feet.

She did not turn left.

She didn't do anything he told her, even as every statement he made revealed safety issues and ways to avoid disaster. Yet he was her evaluator, the person who would re-certify her, reporting to his superiors that she was competent or incompetent. Maybe she froze in flight, but if so, that's an unfit pilot. More likely, she was absolutely sure she would pass, what with her being a woman and having political connections, having served in Joe Biden's White House. Nobody was going to touch her, so she was going to fly the way she wanted, not taking orders from some man with the lowly rank of warrant officer. That the warrant officer didn't rip the controls from her hands in the face of danger is notable, too -- was he afraid that doing so would be a career-ending move?

DEI hovers over this case like a bad smell -- remember this detail once the crash happened?

The Pentagon and its media allies seemed to want to cover up the fact that the crashing pilot was female. The press downplayed her role as "third soldier" when in reality, she was lead incompetent.

Alex Berensen has more here:

What it shows is that DEI has no place at all anywhere in the military where lives are at stake. This should be exhibit A for ending the practice, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is trying to do, but has an Augean stable to deal with.

Let's hope the Trump administration continues its current path of ending the practice, for the sake of competent servicemen like Eaves, and all the young skating champions and their families, whose lives were tragically cut short.

Image: X screen shot

*Correction: The body count has been updated.