On Thursday, January 30, President Donald Trump gave reporters a live briefing on the fatal American Airlines crash with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C.
As the passenger plane neared Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on the evening of January 29, AA Flight 5342 struck a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River. It is thought to be the deadliest aircraft accident since 2001, with 64 people on board and three soldiers on the helicopter.
Trump, 78, described the accident as “a tragedy of terrible proportions” and “a real tragedy” during the press conference. Before he finally got into a heated argument with reporters present during a Q&A, he claimed that the government’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and the mental health of its employees were to blame.
Trump criticized CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for failing to pose a “smart question.”
“We don’t know the names of the 67 people who were killed, and you are blaming Democrats and DEI and air traffic control and seemingly the member of the U.S. military who was flying that Black Hawk helicopter,” Collins stated prior to asking, “Don’t you think you’re getting ahead of the investigation right now?”
No, I don’t think so at all,” Trump retorted. Are you referring to the names of the passengers on the plane, I don’t believe? Do you believe that will have an impact? That’s not a very intelligent question, in my opinion. I’m shocked that you said that.
Another reporter questioned whether it was too soon to attribute the accident to DEI initiatives, air traffic controllers, or even the helicopter pilots, as Trump repeatedly claimed during his briefing. The president responded, “I have common sense.”
One of the other things I will tell you is that the systems were constructed, and I was going to rebuild the entire system,” he added. After that, we had an election that came out differently than expected. The system was not constructed correctly. They invested a significant amount of money in system renovation, far more than they would have if they had purchased a new computerized system for air traffic controllers.
“Air traffic controllers, they have to be at the highest level of genius,” he stated.
Trump criticized policies put in place during former President Joe Biden’s administration, such as the Federal Aviation Administration’s current hiring practices, before responding to questions from reporters in the room.
“FAA’s diversity push includes focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities,” said the president. The FAA then states that the most underrepresented group in the workforce is those with severe disabilities. They can work as air traffic controllers, and they want them in. Not in my opinion.
He concluded by stating that “FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiatives spelled out on the agency’s website.”
The FAA’s diversity and inclusion hiring practices, he continued, did not guarantee safe and effective travel, and “you need a very special talent and a very special genius to be able to [do the job of an air traffic controller]”. “I don’t believe so. “I doubt it,” he remarked.
Trump’s assertion that the policy “stems from efforts that began under President Biden or the transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, is demonstrably false,” according to NBC News’ Peter Alexander, who followed up with Trump.
Alexander went on to say, “It was there for the entirety of your administration, too,” adding that it had been on the FAA website since 2013. I would like to know why you didn’t alter the policy during your first term in office.
In response, Trump maintained that he had altered the policy before Biden reversed it. Alexander’s questions were later described by the president as “totally irrelevant and not very good.”
President Trump expressed confusion over the crash of an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, after the helicopter crashed into the plane. The plane was on a routine line of approach to the airport, and the helicopter was going straight at it for an extended period of time.
The control tower asked the helicopter if they had the plane in sight, but the Black Hawk probably thought they did. The crash occurred during an annual proficiency training flight, and the military helicopter involved was on an annual proficiency flight.
The American Airlines flight split in half upon impact from the helicopter. The pilot highlighted the importance of the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System, which helps prevent mid-air collisions. Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran expressed his sorrow for the passengers and confirmed that no one survived the crash.
