New York Magazine is under fire after releasing an article about the January 29 plane crash in Washington, D.C. The incident, which led to the death of 67 people, is still under investigation. Despite that, NY Magazine shared a post placing the blame solely on the soldiers in the Black Hawk helicopter.
NY Magazine Solves the Plane Crash Mystery?
The publication shared a piece on January 31 titled “The D.C. Plane Crash Is No Mystery.” This was barely 48 hours after the deadly crash occurred. In the piece, aviation journalist Jeff Wise was looking to blame someone for the incident.
He initially opened the piece by stating that it’s important not to jump to judgment when aviation accidents like this happen. However, Wise wrote, “A lot is unknown, but one basic fact is not: The helicopter pilot was at fault.”
Nearly a week later, officials have still yet to confirm which of the three military members was flying the helicopter. The investigation is still ongoing, so how was NY Magazine able to pinpoint exactly who was at fault?
Wise went on to say, “It was quite clearly the Army Black Hawk helicopter that was not where it was supposed to be.”
He continued, “While it may be the case that the tower was not properly staffed or that the airport’s resources are chronically overtaxed, neither of these things played a role in the crash that took the lives of 67 passengers and crew.”
Publication Blasted for Placing Blame on Helicopter Pilot
Folks on Instagram didn’t hesitate to let NY Magazine know they’d made a mistake by posting this article. One person wrote, “Not just one person is at fault. Do your research. This is a system with broken safety nets due to overworked employees and stingy staffing.”
Another Instagram user commented, “‘Posting a piece like this seems to fall somewhere between libelous and wildly careless. This isn’t journalism. It’s your drunk uncle ranting during the dinner he wasn’t invited to.” A third suggested NY Magazine was a tabloid, writing, “NY Mag – are you tabloids? Is this an editorial?” Others weighed in, stating that the article was “irresponsible” at best.
Investigators are continuing to look into the plane crash to determine what happened on the night of January 29. Brice Banning, the investigator in charge, said, “This is a complex investigation. There are a lot of pieces here.” At the end of the day, everyone working on this wants to get answers for the families of those who died in this tragic accident.
