Latest / INSIGHT TODAY / Pilot shows how Trump's arch complicates DC landings

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Pilot shows how Trump's arch complicates DC landings · INSIGHT TODAY

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The approach to Reagan Washington National Airport, especially from the north,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: is one of the trickiest for pilots to navigate due
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: to the complex airspace. There's the White House restricted airspace, there,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the Washington Monument, a bend in the Potomac River, and
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: then the Pentagon off to the right, and now perhaps
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: another complication, President Trump's proposed two hundred and fifty foot
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: tall triumphal arch. Southern SERFAI reports.
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  Speaker 2: This airspace above me is among the most complex for
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: planes taking off and landing, and President Trump is about
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  Speaker 2: to make it even more complicated with this a two
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  Speaker 2: hundred and fifty foot friable arch in the middle of
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  Speaker 2: this very congested airspace, less than two miles from the
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: final approach of Washington's Reagan National Airport. The size and
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: location is sparking concern in the aviation community. Ever since
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: nine to eleven, commercial airspace is restricted, so planes have
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: to use this flight path to come in from the north.
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  Speaker 2: Pilots tell us this is already one of the most
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  Speaker 2: difficult landings in the country.
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  Speaker 3: It's challenging, especially that last term. Now there arch is
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  Speaker 3: going to be something we come across near the end
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  Speaker 3: of this arrival when we're already at low altitude.
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  Speaker 2: Ben Berman, a former airline pilot, took us into a
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  Speaker 2: simulator to show us exactly what pilots see when they
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  Speaker 2: make this landing.
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  Speaker 3: So right now we're flying by the arch.
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  Speaker 2: So you're talking about only three hundred of clearance between
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  Speaker 2: you and the top of the arch.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, approximately, So right now make you feel Oh, if
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  Speaker 3: it's a clear visual day, I feel good. But if
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  Speaker 3: I was flying that ar nab approach to one night,
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  Speaker 3: I can this into clouds. You can't go to the
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  Speaker 3: left because there's the restricted airspace of downtown Washington and
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  Speaker 3: all the Capitol and White House and everything. And then
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  Speaker 3: you can't go to the right because well there may
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  Speaker 3: be an arch there. So then at the very last bit,
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  Speaker 3: make a about a thirty degree right urn to line
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  Speaker 3: up with the ramite. Now has to be judged, you know,
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  Speaker 3: by eye.
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  Speaker 2: I am standing where the arch will ultimately go. I'm
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  Speaker 2: nearly six feet tall. You can see how tall the
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  Speaker 2: arch would be. The flight path is just three hundred
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  Speaker 2: and fifty feet above the highest point of the arch.
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  Speaker 2: While that seems like a small distance, experts say it's
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  Speaker 2: enough space because the horizontal clearance is so wide, between
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  Speaker 2: fourteen hundred to two thousand feet. Even so, for years
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  Speaker 2: pilots have complained about landing at Runway one nine one
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  Speaker 2: that is closest to the arch. According to government reports,
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  Speaker 2: pilots have said there is not enough room to make
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  Speaker 2: the descent, flying too low in the area, receiving caution
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  Speaker 2: obstacle alerts from their warning systems, and struggling to avoid
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: flying into the prohibited air space. The FAA says the
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  Speaker 2: arch is safe, saying it would have no significant adverse effect,
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  Speaker 2: but called for red lights to be added to the
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  Speaker 2: arch to help pilots navigate around it.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: And so Sulent tell us where do things stand right
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  Speaker 1: now tonight in terms of whether this arch actually gets built, Well.
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  Speaker 2: It's pretty close, John. One of two key federal commissions
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  Speaker 2: that needs to review the arch will be taking it
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  Speaker 2: up in September are their September third meeting. Now it
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  Speaker 2: has to go through these two key committees. One has
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  Speaker 2: already passed it through, so we're ultimately just waiting on
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  Speaker 2: the second when the National Capital Planning commit Commission. And
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: a reminder, these are commissions that the president fire the
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: previous members replaced with its hand selected loyalists, so it's
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  Speaker 2: likely that that will get passed when they take it
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: up for a final vote, but it does still face
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: this lawsuit, a lawsuit from Vietnam veterans groups, also from
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  Speaker 2: historians preservationists who argue about the location of the arch
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  Speaker 2: so close to Arlington National Cemetery. It's making its way
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  Speaker 2: through the courts, of course. Now when the the win
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: and if the arch is approved, if it clears the
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  Speaker 2: legal hurdles the Department of intire John, they have been
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: very clear that they are going to work very quickly,
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  Speaker 2: very feelcy. They have already laid out a very aggressive timeline.
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  Speaker 2: The plan would be to work twenty hours a day,
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  Speaker 2: two shifts for ten hours each on those shifts, seven
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  Speaker 2: days a week, twenty hour work days, year round, to
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  Speaker 2: get this done before the president leaves office.
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  Speaker 1: John, fascinating, Peace Sullen, kudos to the graphics team and
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  Speaker 1: thank you very much.
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  Speaker 4: Cinnan has learned that the Trump administration is quietly moving
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  Speaker 4: to rewrite historic preservation rules. If passed, the changes would
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  Speaker 4: help pave the way for constructing the president's pet projects,
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  Speaker 4: such as what you see on your screen, the Triumphal Arch.
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  Speaker 4: At least one critic has called these proposed changes really
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: shocking cinn and Someone'servadi joins us, Now, someone walk us
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  Speaker 4: through these proposed changes and what makes them shocking.
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  Speaker 2: Boris this is really quite significant. We're talking about regulations
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  Speaker 2: that have been in place for over fifty years. To
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  Speaker 2: get a little bit in the weeds here, this all
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  Speaker 2: involves Section one hundred and six of the National Historic
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  Speaker 2: Preservation that is basically instructs mandates agencies to look at
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  Speaker 2: the impact of projects on historical properties. So this is
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  Speaker 2: in essence what the Trumpet administration has been running up
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  Speaker 2: against and really at the heart of much of the
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  Speaker 2: legal challenges over things like the arch, the reflecting Pool,
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  Speaker 2: the East Potomac golf Course, the Kennedy Center, for example.
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  Speaker 2: So according to a draft of these changes that we obtained,
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  Speaker 2: it's numerous, but pulling out just to one. Currently, the
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  Speaker 2: rule state that if the project is going to create
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  Speaker 2: adverse effects, the agency in charge is required to consider alternatives.
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  Speaker 2: And this is zero language to avoid, minimize, or mitigate
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  Speaker 2: adverse effects. But the new changes slight work change, but
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  Speaker 2: a significant difference. It says now that the change the
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  Speaker 2: language goes to reasonable mitigation measures. So it really takes
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  Speaker 2: a little bit of the onus on the people who
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  Speaker 2: are calling for this property to address the adverse effects. Also,
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  Speaker 2: it does not mandate, it just suggests a public period.
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  Speaker 2: But critics really are all over this, preservationists, historians, They
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  Speaker 2: tell me that this gives the Trump administration much more
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  Speaker 2: leeway here to get their projects through. Rebecca Miller, the
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  Speaker 2: executive director of the DC Preservation League, tells me, quote,
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  Speaker 2: moving forward, it would give them, as in the administration,
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  Speaker 2: free reign to do whatever they wanted to do. It's
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  Speaker 2: not even a small tweak, it's a complete gutting of
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  Speaker 2: the Section one oh six process. Now there will be
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  Speaker 2: a vote later this week at the agency that's in
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  Speaker 2: charge of this bors. Then it would potentially go over
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  Speaker 2: to ONB so a little more steps to have to happen,
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  Speaker 2: but potentially in the next few months we could see
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  Speaker 2: these regulations updated, could mean an easier path for some
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: of President Trump's project.
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  Speaker 4: It's notable that the public comment period would only be
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  Speaker 4: suggested in part because some of what we've seen in
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  Speaker 4: public pushback to some of these projects has been really notable.
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  Speaker 2: That's right, And in every one of these steps they
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: have a public comment period, it's mandated that the commissioners
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  Speaker 2: bring it up ninety nine point nine percent likely that
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: that has been negative and they've had to make note
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  Speaker 2: of it. It will basically fast track it. No longer
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  Speaker 2: mandate that significant.
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  Speaker 4: Southern Serfai will keep an eye on the story. Thank
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  Speaker 4: you so much for that reporting.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: President Trump is building a new helipad on the south lawn.
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  Speaker 4: His reason, well, it will save the grass that's currently
• 7:19
  Speaker 4: being scorched by heat from more powerful.
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  Speaker 2: Helicopter he's decided to use.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: CN Southern Serfadi explains.
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  Speaker 2: More or less, it is President Trump's latest stylistic stamp
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  Speaker 2: on the White House.
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  Speaker 5: We're building a helipad, beautiful helipad.
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  Speaker 2: Building a permanent helipad on the south lawn for Marine
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  Speaker 2: one to land and take off.
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  Speaker 5: Another presidents wouldn't do that because I think it's not
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  Speaker 5: good to make a change to luxury. But you got
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  Speaker 5: to do it.
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  Speaker 2: As construction crews have started working, details have emerged. Trump
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  Speaker 2: ordering up a pad that will be one hundred feet
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  Speaker 2: in diameter, made out of black granite and features the
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  Speaker 2: presidential seal.
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  Speaker 3: The president w United States of America.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: Starting after June's UFC match that tore up the south lawn,
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  Speaker 2: causing seven hundred thousand dollars in damage when the octagon
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  Speaker 2: known as the Claw was built on the south lawn.
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  Speaker 2: For years, Marine one has landed on temporary circular discs
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  Speaker 2: put out manually before the helicopter lands.
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  Speaker 5: For fifty years, we've been landing helicopters on grass. The
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  Speaker 5: grass is wet, Saggi. The helicopters sometimes missed our little mark.
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  Speaker 2: The White House is arguing that this change is not
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  Speaker 2: just about style, but also necessity needed to protect the
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: grass on the South lawn from the exhaust fumes from
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: the more powerful, upgraded Marine one. The high velocity heat
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  Speaker 2: from the new VH ninety two to a Patriot helicopter
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  Speaker 2: that Trump has opted to use has burned the grass
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  Speaker 2: and torn up the sod of the historic lawn.
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  Speaker 5: They landed the helicopter and half of the grass was
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  Speaker 5: sitting in front of the Oval office front door. The
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  Speaker 5: rest of us scattered off because of the power. It's tremendous.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: The helipad will be paid for by Sikorski, a Lockheed
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: Martin subsidy that builds the helicopters and bills this model
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  Speaker 2: as one capable of fulfilling a no fail mission supporting
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: the commander in chief around the world. The President says
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  Speaker 2: it will cost between five and six million dollars. Just
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: like other work Trump has ordered to the White House campus,
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  Speaker 2: this is also being done without Congress and without two
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  Speaker 2: federal commissions that typically would have a say. A White
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: House official telling CNN they believe upgrades to the White
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: House grounds, such as the helipad installation, do not require
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  Speaker 2: commission reviews, and past presidents have used this more powerful
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  Speaker 2: version of Marine one in the past, but never to
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: take off from the south on. For instance, former President
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  Speaker 2: Joe Biden he would opt to use the older version
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  Speaker 2: of Marine one, potentially saving the grass a bit. A
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  Speaker 2: White House official tells ME they expect that this construction
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  Speaker 2: will be completed by mid September, but in the meantime
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: and while the war continues, the President will need to
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  Speaker 2: take off from this area behind me the ellipse That though,
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  Speaker 2: will necessitate him getting into the motorcade when he departs
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  Speaker 2: the White House and going just a quarter of a
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  Speaker 2: mile