A bombshell Wall Street Journal report from early February revealed that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reprimanded and temporarily fired a Coast Guard pilot who didn't get her blanket off the plane. And Reuters reported Monday that Noem's top aide, Corey Lewandowski, broke safety guidelines by entering the cockpit of the government jet without being invited.
Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that the former Donald Trump advisor realized the key blanket was missing.
"Lewandowski entered the cockpit before the plane had reached 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) and while the seat belt sign remained on," Reuters reported, citing one of the sources.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules require cockpit access to be extremely limited to prevent "interfering with aircraft crew duties." The same regulation prohibits pilots and crew from non-essential activities or conversation in the cockpit below 10,000 feet. Any civil aircraft operators violating such a rule would be fined thousands of dollars, and pilots could be fired.
Unlike commercial flights, the U.S. Coast Guard isn't bound by the FAA's "sterile cockpit rule," though it does have a similar rule.
"No person shall engage in any conversation or activity that could distract or interfere with a flight crewmember properly conducting their assigned duties during critical phases of flight," the 2021 manual reads. There isn't a penalty outlined, however.
Lewandowski partially denied the incident, saying, "There was never a conversation in the cockpit when the flight was taking off."
There were no allegations about Lewandowski in the cockpit while the flight was taking off. The rule is about being in the cockpit while it is still under 10,000 feet. It is considered by aviation safety experts to be the riskiest part of a flight.
Because the planes are moving so slowly and so low, it's critical that pilots focus on those first 10,000 feet.
"This is a vulnerable situation for any aircraft. You don't have the altitude to spare, or trade for airspeed if needed," Randy Klatt, a flight safety officer with The Foundation for Aviation Safety, told Reuters.
The blanket incident was only one clash with the Coast Guard, which has become increasingly frustrated with Noem who, at times, appears more focused on luxury travel and deportations than U.S. Coast Guard soldiers. Noem was also caught in an awkward position last weekend when she couldn't name one case of election fraud while claiming there was widespread voter fraud in Arizona.
In November, Noem faced corruption allegations after she was found secretly accepting cash from a firm that had scored government contracts. The firm landed $220 million and they are being threatened with an investigation.
Trump has become increasingly frustrated with her in recent weeks.
She has reportedly been eyeing an exit.