Key Points
- A passenger jet and US Army helicopter have collided at an airport in Washington DC, killing 67 people.
- It's unclear what caused the crash. The transportation secretary said both aircraft had been flying standard patterns.
- Donald Trump has been criticised for suggesting, without evidence, that diversity hiring may have caused the crash.
United States President Donald Trump implied without evidence federal diversity efforts were at fault after a regional jet crashed into a US Army helicopter at an airport in Washington DC, killing 67 people in the nation's deadliest air disaster in more than 20 years.
The investigation into the crash in the US capital has begun and it was not yet clear why the American Airlines Bombardier carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with the Army Black Hawk helicopter as it prepared to land at Reagan Washington National Airport.
US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said both aircraft had been flying standard flight patterns and there had been no breakdown in communication.
Radio communications show air traffic controllers alerted the helicopter about the approaching jet and ordered it to change course.
The American Airlines Bombardier collided with the Army Black Hawk helicopter as it prepared to land at Reagan Washington National Airport. Source: Getty / Anadolu
At a White House news conference, Trump criticised the helicopter pilots and said he did not know for sure whether the air traffic controllers involved were to blame.
"We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas," he said.
Washington airspace often crowded
Airspace is frequently crowded in the US capital region, home to three commercial airports and several major military facilities, and officials have raised concerns about busy runways at Reagan National Airport, just across the river from Washington. There have been several near-miss incidents that have sparked alarm, including a near-collision in May 2024.
A shortage of air traffic controllers in the US in recent years has spurred safety concerns.
Trump accused his Democratic predecessors, Joe Biden and Barack Obama, of lowering hiring standards and suggested the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) diversity push could have weakened its capabilities.
"I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first," Trump said.
"They actually came out with a directive: 'too white.' And we want the people that are competent."
Asked if the crash was caused by diversity hiring, Trump said: "It just could have been." The administration has not provided any proof to back these assertions.
After his comments, he issued an executive memorandum directing his administration to assess and undo diversity initiatives in aviation safety roles.
Trump has moved quickly to quash federal diversity initiatives since taking office on 20 January, drawing criticism from rights advocates who fear he is rolling back progress the US has made to overcome its history of discrimination.
Trump read from what he described as an FAA document stating physical and mental disabilities would not on their own disqualify applicants for a controller's position.
That document was released in 2013 and remained online through Trump's initial 2017-2021 White House term, according to aides to Biden's transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg.
Buttigieg responded to Trump on X, calling his remarks despicable. "As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying."
Disability activist James Ward called Trump's suggestion that people with disabilities and inclusion programs were to blame for the disaster "unfounded" and "ableist".
National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy, when asked about Trump's comments, replied: "As part of any investigation, we look at the human, the machine and the environment."
"We look at facts in our investigation, and that will take some time."
Cause of Washington crash unclear
Trump's remarks contrasted sharply with those of other officials, who said there was no immediate indication why the crash took place.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said the pilot of the American Eagle Flight 5342 had about six years of flying experience. The Bombardier CRJ-700 jet was operated by PSA Airlines, a regional subsidiary. It carried 60 passengers and four crew members.
Defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the helicopter was flown by a "fairly experienced crew" of three soldiers who were wearing night-vision goggles on an annual proficiency training flight. Officials said they were grounding other flights from the Army unit involved in the crash and would reevaluate training exercises in the region.
Air traffic control recordings appear to capture the final attempted communications with the helicopter before it collided with the jet.
Webcam video of the crash showed the collision and an explosion lighting up the night sky.
Who was on the plane that crashed in Washington?
Passengers on the flight included ice skaters, family and coaches returning from a training camp in Wichita, Kansas, including Russian-born former world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
The skaters on board were returning from a training camp in Wichita, governing body US Figure Skating said.
"Skating is a very close-knit and tight community," said a tearful Doug Zeghibe of the Skating Club of Boston, where Shishkova and Naumov coached.
Two teenage skaters affiliated with the club and their mothers were also aboard the plane, he told reporters.
"We have lost family," he said.
None of the 67 people onboard the plane or helicopter are believed to have survived the collision. Source: EPA / Shawn Thew
The Kremlin offered condolences to the families of the Russians killed.
Washington DC fire chief John Donnelly said conditions were cold and windy, making the operation "extremely rough" for the 300 responders on the scene.
CBS News reported that a dive team had recovered one of the two data recorders, the so-called black boxes, from the plane.
Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin told Reuters the bodies of most of those involved in the collision had been recovered.
"Everything was routine up to the point of the accident," he said.
"Something went wrong."
