President Donald Trump yesterday implied, without any evidence, that federal diversity initiatives were the reason a regional plane crashed into a military helicopter in Washington, killing 67 people in the deadliest U.S. air crash in more than 20 years.
The investigation into the crash in the nation's capital has just begun and it is still unclear why the Bombardier plane of the American airline "America Airlines", which was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, collided with a military helicopter "Black Hawk" while preparing to land at Reagan Washington National Airport.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said both planes were flying according to standard flight plans and there were no communication problems. Radio communications show that air traffic controllers warned the helicopter that the plane was approaching and ordered it to change course. There is no evidence that diversity initiatives in the federal workplace have jeopardized air safety, Reuters points out.
At a White House news conference, Trump criticized the helicopter pilots and said he was not sure whether air traffic controllers were responsible for the accident. "We don't know what led to this accident, but we have very strong opinions and ideas," Trump said.
Airspace is often congested in the Washington region, which is home to three commercial airports and several large military installations. There have been several near-collision incidents, including one in May 2024.
The shortage of air traffic controllers in recent years in the US has fueled safety concerns.
Trump accused his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, of lowering hiring standards and suggested that the FAA's diversity initiative may have weakened its capabilities.
When asked if the accident was caused by diversity-based hiring, Trump said, “That could have been the case.” The administration has not provided any evidence to support these claims.
Trump has moved quickly to roll back federal diversity initiatives since taking office on Jan. 20, drawing criticism from human rights activists who fear he is undoing progress the U.S. has made in overcoming discrimination.
Trump's statements are in sharp contrast to statements by other officials, who said yesterday that there was still no immediate indication of what caused the accident.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said the pilot of American Eagle Flight 5342 had about six years of flying experience. The Bombardier CRJ-700 aircraft was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the helicopter was in the hands of a “fairly experienced crew” of three soldiers wearing night vision goggles during annual flying skills training. Officials said they would suspend other flights from the same military unit involved in the crash and reassess training in the region.
Among the passengers on the flight were ice skaters, their families and coaches returning from a training camp in Kansas, including former world champions, Russian nationals Evgeny Shishkov and Vadim Naumov.
The air traffic control recording shows the final attempts to communicate with the helicopter before the plane collided, in which the air traffic controller can be heard asking the pilot of the military helicopter if he saw the passenger plane and instructing him to pass behind it. A few seconds later, the pilot of the other plane can be heard saying to air traffic control: “Towers, did you see that,” in an apparent reference to the collision. The air traffic controller then rerouted the planes to avoid the area.
Online camera video showed the collision and an explosion that lit up the night sky.
The Russian news agency Mash published a list of 13 figure skaters, many of them children of Russian emigrants to the United States, who are believed to have been on the plane. The Kremlin sent condolences to the families of the Russians who died.
The Washington Fire Chief said it was cold and windy yesterday, making the rescue operation "extremely difficult" for the 300 rescuers on the scene.
CBS News reported that a dive team had recovered one of the two data recorders, the so-called black boxes, from the plane.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin told Reuters that the bodies of most of the passengers and crew members had been recovered. “Everything was routine up until the moment of the accident,” he said. “Something went wrong.”
The main runway at Reagan National Airport is the busiest in the United States, with more than 800 daily takeoffs and landings. The airport is located just two miles from the White House and half a mile from the Pentagon. U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia said he has long been concerned about the dense airspace, where civilian and military aircraft must maneuver through the unique security challenges of the U.S. capital.
"I was praying that it wouldn't be something like what happened last night, but somehow deep down I expected it to happen," he told reporters.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
