An American Airlines flight and a Black Hawk military helicopter collided and crashed into the Potomac River near Washington DC late Wednesday night (Jan 29) taking the lives of 67 people.
Investigators have recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the American Airlines flight. A probe is underway to ascertain the cause of the crash, which was the deadliest air disaster in the US since 2001 and the first fatal crash involving an American airliner in nearly 15 years.
A preliminary report of the incident is expected within 30 days. Even though the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that it is “too early to tell” whether the crash resulted from human or mechanical error, politicians and even the President of the United States Donald Trump are pulling no stops to find someone to blame for the incident.
DEI hires, Biden, Obama are to blame for the crash: Donald Trump
During a press briefing on Thursday, President Donald Trump said he believed that the crash "looks like it should have been prevented." He placed blame on past Democratic administrations of Joe Biden and Barack Obama, claiming that they had lowered hiring standards for air traffic controllers.
Trump also appeared to blame diversity hires for the crash saying, “The FAA diversity push includes a focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities. That is amazing.”
Asked if the crash was caused by diversity hiring, he said: “It just could have been.”
“I am not blaming the controller. So we don’t know, but we do know that you had two planes at the same level. You had a helicopter and a plane. That shouldn’t have happened,” Trump said.
However, he admitted that he was unsure who was directly responsible for the disaster.
Trump's comments drew criticism from Democrats, with Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, saying “It’s one thing for internet pundits to spew off conspiracies, it’s another for the President of the United States to throw out idle speculation as bodies are still being recovered."
Experts cite airspace protocol failures and air traffic control confusion
Flight path data shows that helicopters and aeroplanes operate on separate routes in the area, but these paths converge near Reagan National Airport. The American Airlines jet had been given clearance to land and, therefore, had the right of way.
Retired Lt. Col. Darin Gaub, a former Black Hawk pilot, told the New York Post that multiple factors contributed to the disaster.
“This is a two-part issue,” he said.
“Was there a failure to follow established procedures in DC airspace, and was there a failure in air traffic control communication?” he added.
Vague air traffic control instructions may have misled Black Hawk pilot
Video footage of the crash shows another aircraft taking off at the same time that the American Airlines jet was descending.
Instead of giving precise instructions, the controller reportedly asked the military pilot if he saw the “CRJ”, referring only to the aircraft type, without specifying its exact location.
“The language should be much clearer,” Gaub said. “Normally, a controller would say something like, ‘Black Hawk, do you see the aircraft at your 11 o’clock, five miles out, moving north?’”
Vague instructions may have led the Black Hawk pilot to look in the wrong direction. “That kind of general call isn’t enough in a crowded airspace,” Gaub said.
Former Air Force pilot and Congressman Adam Kinzinger defended the air traffic controllers, stating in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “air traffic control did its job” by alerting the Black Hawk of the approaching jet.
Military pilot’s actions under scrutiny in crash investigation
However, experts believe the military pilot could have been responsible for the crash.
“Why didn’t he turn? Why didn’t he even slow down?” Gaub questioned. “Something caused him not to see that aircraft … so I’d just like to know why they didn’t deviate from their flight course at all—whether in speed or altitude.”
(With inputs from agencies)