Biden's Chopper Ride Over Bridge Tragedy! Exclusive Aerial Views & Emotional Moments Revealed!

Marine One is set to soar over the wreckage of the Dali container ship and the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge on Friday, offering President Joe Biden an aerial view of the scene before his private meeting with family members of construction workers who perished in the crash.

Biden is scheduled to depart from the White House just after noon aboard the executive helicopter en route to Baltimore, where the Dali lost power and struck the bridge on March 26. Six construction workers who were conducting maintenance on the bridge around 1:30 a.m. that morning lost their lives.

For decades, Marine One, the green helicopter operated by the Marine Corps, has been flying the nation's leaders over disaster sites. One of the most memorable instances was an aerial tour for then-President George W. Bush in 2005 over New Orleans amidst criticism that his administration was not responding adequately to Hurricane Katrina.

Joining Biden on the aerial tour Friday will be Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a rising star in the Democratic Party who is dealing with his first disaster since taking office in January 2023. Also on board will be senior Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers leaders, according to a schedule of Biden’s visit released late Thursday by the White House.

During the visit, the president is scheduled to receive an operational briefing on the ongoing cleanup effort, as Coast Guard and Corps of Engineers officials, along with other federal, state, and local agencies, try to determine how to reopen the waterway. Reopening the Port of Baltimore is critical, as its closure is disrupting the economies of Maryland and the U.S.

Governor Moore has publicly urged Congress to honor Biden’s request that the federal government cover the entire cost to rebuild the bridge, which could be $2 billion or more. So far, Biden has allocated $60 million to Maryland, with his aides indicating they will soon request the total amount from Congress.

"The president has also been clear since day one about his commitment — that the federal government should cover any needed costs for reconstructing the bridge," wrote Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young in a letter released by the White House. 

"This authorization would be consistent with past catastrophic bridge collapses, including in 2007, when Congress acted in a bipartisan manner within days of the I-35W bridge collapse in Minnesota."

Some Republican lawmakers, during an ongoing two-week recess period, have expressed doubts about Washington paying for the entire cost of rebuilding, while others have called for the funding to be offset with cuts to other federal expenditures.

"As the Administration pursues its work to clean up wreckage, clear the channel, and rebuild the bridge, all avenues to recover the costs of past, current, and future work will continue to be pursued and the administration will ensure that any compensation for damages or insurance proceeds collected will reduce costs for the American people," Young wrote.

Administration officials are "ready to work with the Congress" on the project, she wrote, calling the trade route along the Patapsco River "critical to the nation’s workers and economy."

Biden is also scheduled to meet with first responders and family members of the construction workers, and deliver remarks on the recovery effort from a Maryland Transportation Authority facility in Baltimore.

"The president will meet with loved ones of those individuals during his trip tomorrow," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. "

The president is continuing to lead a whole of government approach in responding to the bridge collapse. 

As the president said within hours of the collapse, this administration will be with the people of Baltimore every step of the way."