Trump points fingers, says nation is in mourning after Wichita flight crash
President Donald Trump on Thursday sought to cast blame for what caused a passenger flight from Wichita to crash into an Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington Wednesday night, leaving no apparent survivors as both aircraft plummeted into the frigid Potomac River.
Trump held a brief moment of silence for the victims, calling it a dark and excruciating night in the nation’s history.
But he quickly turned to pointing fingers — first at the Democratic Party and initiatives to promote diversity in the Federal Aviation Administration, then on the pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter out on a routine training mission for being unable to avoid the plane as it went in for landing at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.
“You had a pilot problem from the standpoint of the helicopter,” Trump said. “Because it was visual. It was a very clear night. It was cold and clear, as clear as could be.”
A large-scale search-and-rescue mission Wednesday night led by local first responders turned into a recovery mission by the morning as rescue crews searched for three passengers from the helicopter and 60 passengers and four crew from the plane — including several coaches and skaters with the U.S. Figure Skating Team.
Both Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the crash should not have happened and they pledged that the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Defense Department would launch investigations.
“What happened yesterday shouldn’t have happened. It should not have happened,” Duffy said. “And when Americans take off in airplanes, they should expect to land at their destinations.”
But Trump didn’t wait for investigators before he started tossing out several theories for what caused the crash, telling reporters he was just using “common sense.”
Along with questioning why the helicopter wasn’t able to move in time, saying he owned helicopters and knew they could stop quickly, Trump spent much of his time blaming the diversity initiatives of former President Joe Biden’s administration, saying they made it too easy for people to become air traffic controllers.
Shortly after taking office, Trump signed an executive order to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across the federal government, claiming that those initiatives were holding the government back from hiring the “best and brightest.”
He specifically blamed an FAA initiative to hire people with disabilities — despite the fact that the initiative had been in place since 2013 and that there was no evidence that the air traffic controllers at the airport had been hired through the initiative — and called former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg “a disaster.”
Trump pledged that his executive order would only allow for “geniuses” to work as air traffic controllers and pledged to “restore faith in American air travel.”
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat, criticized Trump’s press briefing, saying the president had politicized one of the worst aviation disasters in American history.
“In a moment where traumatized Americans are looking for leadership and unity, the President instead provided baseless speculation, racist lies, and political finger-pointing,” Cleaver said. “It was a disservice to the American people and the individuals who tragically lost their lives last night, and I hope the President will apologize for such dangerous, divisive, and appalling rhetoric.”
Still, Trump acknowledged the victims of the attack, specifically the figure skaters who were onboard, saying “some very talented people unfortunately were on that plane.”
“We are in mourning,” Trump said. “This has really shaken a lot of people, including people from other nations who were on the flight.”
This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 12:00 PM.
