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US senator wants 'full accounting' of Air Force One White House flyover · GNN Daily Breaking News

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  Speaker 1: U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, Democrat, Illinois, requested a full accounting
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  Speaker 1: on Monday from federal agencies regarding the decision to authorize
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  Speaker 1: a low-altitude Air Force One flyover above the White House
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  Speaker 1: during a Halloween event late last week. In formal letters
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  Speaker 1: addressed to the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, the Department of Defense,
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  Speaker 1: and the White House Office of Management and Budget, Duckworth
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  Speaker 1: questioned the operational authorization. total taxpayer cost, and safety protocols
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  Speaker 1: surrounding the flight. Duckworth, who serves as the top Democrat
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  Speaker 1: on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation,
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  Speaker 1: cited flight tracking data indicating that the presidential Boeing BC-25
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  Speaker 1: conducted two low-altitude passes over the National Mall and the
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  Speaker 1: White House complex. According to tracking records, the aircraft descended
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  Speaker 1: to altitudes between 400 and 1,000 feet, passing in close
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  Speaker 1: proximity to the Washington Monument. Duckworth characterized the maneuvers as
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  Speaker 1: a dangerous stunt that breached standard minimum safe altitude rules
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  Speaker 1: established by federal aviation regulators. The low-altitude flight over heavily
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  Speaker 1: restricted District of Columbia airspace triggered notable logistical disruptions across
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  Speaker 1: the regional aviation network. Commercial airline officials reported receiving under
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  Speaker 1: an hour's notice prior to the airspace restrictions, forcing multiple
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  Speaker 1: incoming flights into holding patterns around Ronald Reagan Washington National
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  Speaker 1: Airport and Baltimore-slash-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Data from flight
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  Speaker 1: tracking service FlightAware showed that 26% of departures and 17%
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  Speaker 1: of arrivals, totaling 202 flights, suffered delays directly linked to
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  Speaker 1: the temporary airspace closure. The District of Columbia Homeland Security
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  Speaker 1: and Emergency Management Agency and local municipal leaders also expressed
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  Speaker 1: frustration over minimal advance warning, noting that the low-altitude flyover
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  Speaker 1: caused widespread public confusion. In her oversight request, Duckworth requested
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  Speaker 1: that the Pentagon clarify whether the flyover was classified as
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  Speaker 1: a routine training mission and detail the specific military readiness
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  Speaker 1: objectives achieved. She further pressed the FAA to produce flight
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  Speaker 1: authorization logs, state the precise minimum altitude granted for the operation,
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  Speaker 1: and outline why civilian air traffic was not provided adequate
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  Speaker 1: advance notice to prevent commercial delays. Spokespersons for the FAA
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  Speaker 1: and the Pentagon confirmed receipt of the senator's inquiry and
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  Speaker 1: stated that official responses would be submitted directly to Congress.
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  Speaker 1: An FAA representative noted that the flight had been formally
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  Speaker 1: coordinated through standard agency channels prior to execution. The White
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  Speaker 1: House has not issued a public response regarding the operational
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  Speaker 1: cost of the flight, though administration officials reiterated that presidential
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  Speaker 1: aircraft flyovers remain a standard feature during major public and
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  Speaker 1: ceremonial events.