WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump faces criticism for firing an aviation safety committee and heads of government agencies just days before a deadly collision between a commercial flight and a military helicopter over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan National Airport Wednesday night.
Officials confirmed during a press briefing Thursday morning that all 64 members aboard American Airlines’ American Eagle Flight 5342 are feared dead after a Black Hawk military helicopter directly crashed into it during its descent toward the airport around 8:48 p.m.
Audio released from air traffic controllers indicate the helicopter was asked multiple times if it saw the plane it was rapidly approaching before it collided and burst into flames.
“PAT 2-5 do you have the CRJ in sight?” After silence, the air traffic controller said, ““PAT 2-5 pass behind the CRJ.”
At least 27 bodies have been recovered in and near the icy waters, DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly told reporters. The commercial flight from Wichita, Kansas was carrying U.S. figure skaters and retired Russian figure skating coaches. Meanwhile, the Black Hawk helicopter had three U.S. soldiers on board, officials said.
Trump fired aviation safety committee members
As crews continue recovery efforts and condolences from local and federal politicians pour in, Trump’s decision to root out diversity, equity and inclusion in the federal government by firing federal employees has come under scrutiny.
On January 21, just eight days before the crash, Trump signed an executive order calling for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to eliminate all DEI initiatives within its department.
“Illegal and discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring, including on the basis of race, sex, disability, or any other criteria other than the safety of airline passengers and overall job excellence, competency, and qualification, harms all Americans, who deserve to fly with confidence,” the executive order states.
That same day, Trump fired the heads of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) the Coast Guard, and eliminated all members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee.
The advisory committee focuses on aviation safety. It was formed in 1988 following a terrorist attack that killed all 259 members aboard the Pan Am Flight 103 heading from London to New York.
“Do I think this was preventable? Absolutely”
Stephanie Bernstein is a former member of the committee whose husband died in the 1988 attack.
“I naively thought, ‘oh they’re not going to do anything in the new administration, to put security at risk — aviation security at risk.’ But I’m not so sure,” Bernstein told the Associated Press after her removal from the committee.
In a post to his Truth Social account Wednesday night, Trump appeared to blame the control tower for the crash.
“Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane? This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD,” Trump posted.
On Thursday, Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters he shared Trump’s view. “Everything was standard in the lead-up to the crash,” Duffy said. “Do I think this was preventable? Absolutely.”
Notably, Duffy was sworn in just hours before the fatal crash. It remains unclear why the Black Hawk helicopter collided with the commercial flight. It marks the first such crash in decades in the U.S.
Trump holds press briefing Thursday
During a White House press briefing Thursday, Trump accused former presidents of hiring federal employees based only on race or disability. The president said nothing about firing key aviation safety employees and officials.
“We’ll find out how this disaster occurred, and we’ll ensure nothing like this happens again,” Trump said during Thursday’s press briefing.
He said the FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and U.S. military will be carrying out a systematic and comprehensive investigation to determine what happened. Trump also announced he would be immediately appointing an acting administrator to the FAA. As of Thursday morning, the position remained vacant.
“I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary,” Trump said, blaming former presidents Obama and Biden for putting “politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen” above safety.
“We have to have our smartest people. It doesn’t matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are, it matters intellect, talent, the word talent, you have to be talented, naturally talented geniuses.”
Trump also attacked former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, accusing him of running the department into the ground. “He was a disaster as a mayor. He ran his city into the ground, and he’s a disaster. Now, he’s just got a good line of bullshit,” Trump said.
Buttigieg responded to Trump’s briefing in a social media post, calling it despicable.
When taking questions, the president deflected from questions about aviation safety. When a CNN reporter asked if it comforts the families of the victims to hear the president blame DEI for the crash. Trump responded by referring to the reporters’ question as “not very smart.”
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This is such a comprehensive post—well done!