By Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch
President Trump sought Thursday to command the aftermath of a national aviation tragedy with reassurance, but without the patience to turn a moment of silence for the victims and their families into a longer pause to make room for today’s ongoing investigation.
“We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas,” he said from the White House briefing room. “And I think we’ll probably state those opinions now because over the years I’ve watched as things like this happen and they say, ‘Well, we’re always investigating,’ and then the investigation, three years later, they announce it.”
▪ The Hill: Five takeaways from Trump’s press conference.
▪ The Hill’s The Memo by Niall Stanage: Washington flight disaster sparks political fights.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating what led an American Airlines regional plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter with its crew of three to collide late Wednesday over the Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport.
The NTSB, working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Defense Department and others will eventually report why 67 people perished in midair just a few thousand feet from a clear runway near the nation’s capital.
Trump spoke with reporters twice Thursday, suggesting the fault might be embedded in FAA diversity hiring policies that he said were wrongly embraced by his two Democratic predecessors. He also suggested without offering evidence that air traffic controller errors might be to blame or perhaps issues with the Black Hawk crew. “You had a pilot problem from the standpoint of the helicopter, I mean, because it was visual,” Trump added. The president said he offered his “common sense,” not specific facts that had been verified by first responders and aviation experts from the scene hours after the crash.
▪ The Associated Press: Challenged to explain his assertions, here is how the president responded.
▪ The Hill: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized Trump’s “idle speculation” about the crash: “It just turns your stomach.”
At the time Trump spoke, the identities of the victims had not been officially released, and relatives were still en route to Washington to be briefed.
The Washington Post: What to know about the passengers.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters a “mistake was made.” He did not add details but noted the Army helicopter had been conducting a training exercise.
The exchanges among air controllers, the plane and the helicopter are at the center of the investigation. A supervisor at National Airport determined that air traffic volume Wednesday was low enough to combine two tower positions — handling local arrivals into the airport and helicopter traffic — into one controller the night of the collision, which is not uncommon. Investigators will probe why the pilot of American Airlines flight 5342 was asked to change the plane’s approach from one of the main airport runways to another. And the elevation at which the helicopter flew will be probed.
Investigators are collecting audio and available video. The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were recovered Thursday and sent to the NTSB lab.
