Everything Trump Has Said About the Fatal Passenger Jet and Army Helicopter Crash

In the deadliest U.S. major commercial aviation incident in 16 years, there were no survivors in 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.

This is President Trump’s first major incident to lead the country through in his second term at the White House. 

Here is what Trump has said about the fatal crash so far:

What did Trump say in the immediate aftermath of the passenger jet and Army helicopter crash?

Late Wednesday night, Trump’s Press Secretary posted a statement from the President  on X (formerly Twitter), in which he thanked first responders and said he had been “fully briefed on the terrible accident.” He said he was “monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise.” Trump posted the same statement on his own social media platform, Truth Social, on Thursday morning. 

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.”

What did Trump say in his press briefing the day after the crash?

At around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday morning President Trump 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 were 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 (FAA), 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.”

The FAA has yet to publicly identify any of the controllers responsible for monitoring flights around the airport. 

Furthermore, air traffic controllers must undergo extensive training and mental fitness tests.According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, these tests are to determine that air traffic controllers don’t have any “personality or mental disorder that clearly demonstrates a potential hazard to safety in the air traffic control system.” 

Trump continued to flesh 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.”

What has Trump said since?

Later on Thursday, Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office, where he was asked if he had spoken to any of the victims’ families, to which he denied to comment.

He was then asked if he plans to go and visit the site of the crash. “I have a plan to visit—not the site,” he said. “You tell me, what’s the site? The water? You want me to go swimming?”

Trump went on to say that he will be meeting with some of the families impacted by the crash.

The President was also asked whether he believed his remarks on diversity earlier in the day would affect the investigation of the crash, to which he responded “no.”

“I think they’ll do an investigation, it will probably come out the way I said it,” Trump said.  

Trump has gone on to speak about the crash via various posts on Truth Social. 

On Friday, he posted a video of Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington during his March 2023 confirmation hearings in the Senate, getting questioned by Republican Senator Ted Budd. He had been nominated by former President Joe Biden to lead the FAA after the role remained empty since mid-2022, and if confirmed, would have been the first Black person to serve as FAA Administrator. Though Washington, a 24-year veteran, held multiple transit-related positions, he was grilled for his lack of aviation experience. Washington eventually withdrew his nomination for leading the FAA after continued opposition from Republicans.

Trump’s caption read: “Biden’s choice to lead FAA…”

Later, on Friday, the President more directly reiterated his suspicions about the height that the helicopter was flying at, writing on Truth Social: “The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200 foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???”