also, a pilot and flight instructor is with me, along with brad bowman. as i mentioned, former blackhawk pilot who flew this same route. so, pete, i know that you have been talking to your sources all day and you know, you've been you've been up for 24 hours almost now working on this story. what is the latest you're learning about what might have happened? i mean, when you just look out here and anyone who's flown in this airport, i mean, you're in the final seconds. you see the potomac river, you know, you're ready to get your bags and get off the plane. >> this was seconds away from being a near miss, something we have seen so much of in 2023 and 2024. in fact, two near misses came under ntsb investigation here at reagan national airport. right now. it is so surreal as somebody who is here at national airport all the time doing live shots and reporting to see the police boats out in the water, still tonight, nearly 24 hours after this crash. what we're learning now is that there was a bit of a switch up in the control tower here at reagan national airp

joining me now is former black hawk pilot brad bowman. thank you for getting up early. i know you've been up late talking about this, but making some really interesting points. i first want to get to this defense secretary pete hegseth said a, quote, mistake was made during the blackhawks routine training. he said there was, quote, an elevation issue. so he too leaning into this idea that the elevation was off, that the the blackhawk was flying far higher than it was supposed to be. how would something like this happen? i mean, aren't there instruments, a line of sight that that would warn the pilot about where they are? >> thank you sir. you know, i served in that unit as an active duty army officer and pilot and pilot and command for about two years. i commanded charlie company there and flew that route more times than i can count. and, you know, this is part of a low level helicopter route throughout the washington, dc area above the freeways and over the potomac. and in each place you're supposed to be at a particular route and a particular altitude. and the lowest

last night, brad bowman, former blackhawk pilot and member of the 12th aviation battalion, spoke to our pete muntean about the helicopter routes in the area. >> i've flown. >> this route. >> too many. >> times to. >> count. >> you. before you proceed. >> south along. >> the river, you called reagan tower at key bridge and you say. you say you're at key bridge. you don't proceed without their permission. you stair step down your altitude and you're at 200ft, and you keep that 200ft, plus or minus, you know, ten, 20ft. and so as this investigation proceeds, i'm going to really want to see what altitude was that blackhawk at. and if it was well above 200ft, that might have been a decisive explanation here for what happened. >> but that investigation just getting underway. joining us right now is todd inman. he's a member of the national transportation safety board, lead spokesman on this investigation. this, of course, is the agency that is leading the investigation into this tragedy. todd, thank you very much for being here with all of the understanding that you all are just really one fu

. >> brad bowman. >> was a company commander in the very same blackhawk unit and flew this flight path. often. >> the helicopter. >> pilot at this point should be scanning aggressively the. >> exclusive videos. >> show no sign of evasive maneuvers and new flight tracking data suggest the blackhawk may have been above the area's maximum altitude for helicopters. >> if it's higher than 200ft, that's that's a decisive error that should not have happened. >> the chopper was flying on a special helicopter path, skirting the airport, regularly used by the military to train for missions like evacuating leaders. in an emergency. >> you have the washington monument left and the jefferson more on your right. and then. and then you're flying right here by reagan national airport. it's one of the busiest aviation spots in the country, if not the world. >> less than 48 hours after the crash, the federal aviation administration has now shut down the routes for the foreseeable future. a source familiar with the investigation tells me more permanent changes are being discussed. investigators have reco

brad spafford. go go go go go go go go! 50 cent. go! >> that was 50 cent rate in las vegas. joining us now is comedian anthony anderson and his mom, actress doris hancox bowmanony already has 2025 exciting plans. he's appearing opposite viola davis in the upcoming action movie on prime g20. hey, thank you for being here. y'all want some shots? oh, yes we do. >> okay. come on, let's. >> right. hey. oh, good. anderson and i oh, you brought your mama brings her own bottle. yes. all right. happy new year. >> new year. happy new year. she doesn't drink. let's see what happens. neither do i. neither do i. we saw what happened. now, have you guys ever been in times square on new year's eve? >> no. this is my mother's first time in times square. new year's eve. >> nice. >> nice. it's fun. >> right? yeah. hey, mama. when's the last time you've done lsd? >> i've never done. was that wild? >> did you see that? yeah. >> that was. that was wild. >> that was crazy. i smoked a joint in francis house. i can tell you about that. i'm on the air right now. >> yes, we are on the air. francis. hey, anthony. >> you bared it all for the tv special. the real full monty. yes. to rai