by Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – U.S. President Donald J. Trump told reporters Thursday there were no survivors after Wednesday’s midair collision between an American Airlines passenger plane and a military helicopter that killed 67 people.
Trump also suggested that air controllers at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, located near the crash site, may have been unfit to prevent the disaster due to the “diversity policies” of the previous Biden administration.
After asking reporters at the White House that he wanted to begin with “a moment of silence for the victims and their families,” he said: “There are no survivors. We grieve for every soul. We are a country in mourning. I speak with you in an hour of anguish. Both planes crashed immediately in the Potomac River.”
He stressed that “talented Russian people” were also on board, referring to world-champion skaters and other athletes. “The country is mourning for them,” he said, adding that the United States would enable the human remains to be flown to Russia despite current flight sanctions over its war in Ukraine.
Trump lashed out at former President Joe Biden, saying his administration encouraged people with mental and physical disabilities to apply for air control services.
“I heard the tapes. American Airlines came in, and then you had a military helicopter. You had a pilot problem there. They should not have been at the same height. Someone should have been able to point that out. You had a confluence of bad decisions.”
His Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, “We will not accept excuses.”
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U.S. Vice President JD Vance said he understood his boss’s concerns about diversity policies. “We want to hire the best people at air traffic control. Good people were sent away because of the color of their skin.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed that sentiment. He also said that the Black Hawk helicopter that crashed was on a training mission. “There was some kind of elevation. I want to express my condolences,” he said, adding that an investigation is ongoing.
He earlier confirmed that nobody survived the midair collision, saying: “It is going from a rescue mission to a recovery mission,” about the operations in the Potomac River where the planes crashed.
“It is a tragedy, a horrible loss of life,e for those 67 souls on that civilian airliner and, of course, the three soldiers in the Black Hawk Helicopter. They are in our prayers, their families, and their communities, as people are being notified,” Hegseth added.
The tragedy comes 16 years after a Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane crashed into a house near Buffalo, New York, on February 12, 2009.
All 45 passengers, including four crew members, were killed, along with one person on the ground.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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