In the deadliest U.S. major commercial aviation incident in 16 years, no one is believed to have survived a collision between a commercial aircraft and an Army helicopter by Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Jan. 29.
There were 64 people on board the jet, and three military personnel on the helicopter. Recovery operations are underway at the Potomac River, over which the crash occurred.
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This is President Trump’s first major incident to lead the country through in his second term at the White House. Late Wednesday night, Trump’s Press Secretary posted a statement from him on X (formerly Twitter), in which he thanked first responders and said he had been “fully briefed on the terrible accident.” He later posted this same statement on his Truth Social account.
“I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise,” Trump said.
Read More: What to Know About the Passenger Jet, Army Helicopter Collision Near Washington, D.C.
Trump posted another remark about the incident just after midnight on Thursday, seemingly suspicious of the incident, and saying the situation “looks like it should have been prevented.”
“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time,” he wrote on Truth Social. “It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane.”
On Thursday morning, Trump posted: “I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport. May God Bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise.”
Later on, just before 11:30 a.m., the President delivered remarks about the crash to press in the White House briefing room. He was joined by Vice President J.D. Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
After beginning with a moment of silence for the victims, Trump spoke about the timeline of the crash, and confirmed, once more, that there are no survivors.
Trump emphasized putting aside differences and grieving this “tragedy” as a nation, also stating he would contact the countries of origin of the non-Americans on board, including the Russian figure skaters.
Read More: Passenger Jet That Crashed Near Washington D.C. Carried Champion Figure Skaters
“On behalf of the First Lady, myself, and 340 million Americans, our hearts are shattered alongside yours, and our prayers are with you now and in the days to come, we’ll be working very, very diligently in the days to come,” he said. “In moments like this, the differences between Americans fade to nothing compared to the bonds of affection and loyalty that unite us all, both as Americans and even as nations, we are one family, and today we are all heartbroken.”
Soon after, Trump went on to call out former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s air traffic policies. He then started to focus on “diversity” within the Federal Aviation Administration.
Last week, on his second day in office, Trump signed an Executive Order to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI) in the Federal Aviation Administration, proclaiming that DEI “penalizes hard-working Americans who want to serve in the FAA but are unable to do so, as they lack a requisite disability or skin color.”
When asked by a reporter if he had any evidence to show that DEI policies were to blame for the crash, Trump said “it just could have been.” When asked if he was getting ahead of the investigation, he said he did not think so.
“Because I have common sense,” Trump said when asked how he could already come to the conclusion that diversity had something to do with the crash. “We want brilliant people doing this. This is a major chess game at the highest level when you have 60 planes coming in during a short period of time and they’re all coming in different directions.”
Trump also fleshed out his suspicions about how this tragedy occurred, again emphasizing the visibility during the clear night, and the potential maneuvers the pilots could have made to prevent the crash.
“We don’t know that necessarily it’s even the controller’s fault, but one thing we do know: there was a lot of vision, and people should have been able to see that,” Trump said. “At what point do you stop at what point you say ‘wow that plane’s getting a little bit close,’ so this is a tragedy that should not have happened.”
