Reports finds Washington control tower under-staffed, Donald Trump blames DEI for deadly collision

Preliminary FAA report finds one air traffic controller was guiding both helicopters and planes on the night of the Potomac mid-air crash, Trump blames diversity hires for undermining standards.

The air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington was reportedly understaffed on the day a passenger jet and a Black Hawk military helicopter collided mid-air, with the controller guiding helicopters in the vicinity also handling planes that were landing and taking off.

An internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration safety report about the collision that killed all 64 people on board American Airlines Flight 5342 as well as the three in the helicopter found the workload on the controllers was unusually heavy and complex, with staffing a third below targeted staff levels, The New York Times reports.

According to The NY Times, controllers use different radio frequencies to communicate with pilots flying planes and pilots flying helicopters, so when the controller is speaking with the pilots, those people can’t hear each other.

The revelations come as Donald Trump announced an investigation into the collision and launched an extraordinary attack on Democrat policies, blaming diversity hires for undermining air traffic control standards.

The American Airlines jet was on a routine flight from Wichita in Kansas to Washington with 64 passengers and crew, when it was hit by the Sikorsky H-60 army Black Hawk, which had three military personnel on board.

Speaking at a White House press conference, Mr Trump said the collision was “a real tragedy” and asked for a moment of silence for the victims and their families before he started speaking.

He also thanked those involved in the “massive search and rescue operation” which was underway throughout the night.

“The work has now shifted to a recovery mission. Sadly there are no survivors,” he said. “This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history.”

“We grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly,” he said. “We are in mourning.”

However, the US President went on to blame Democrat policies for the tragedy. He told reporters: “We do not know what led to this crash,” but said he had some “very strong opinions and ideas,” arguing that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives had undermined quality standards among Air Traffic Controllers. He claimed this was putting unnecessary stress – even shortening the lives – of people who were not qualified to be in those roles.

“You need a very special talent and a very special genius to be able to (be an air traffic controller),” Mr Trump told a press conference at the White House.

He also questioned the altitude and trajectory of the military helicopter that struck the American Airlines plane.

Mr Trump said there was a “pilot problem from the standpoint of the helicopter” arguing that it was a “very clear night” – suggesting the tragedy was avoidable.

Mr Trump said the military helicopter had the ability to stop, to turn, or go up and down – removing itself from the flight path of the passenger jet.

“You could have done a million different manoeuvres,” he said. “For some reason, it just kept going.”

Mr Trump also revealed that several Russian nationals had been killed on board the passenger jet, and clarified that the US government would help to transfer their remains back home.

“I speak to you this morning at an hour of anguish for our nation,” Mr Trump said. “Both aircraft crashed instantly and were immediately submerged into the icy waters of the Potomac.”

The crash happened at around 9pm local time, as the passenger jet made its final approach into Ronald Reagan National Airport, in the last moments of a route that opened only a year ago to entice more tourists from America’s Midwest to visit the nation’s capital.

In their last moments, passengers on board would have seen Washington’s illuminated Capitol Building and the White House before their plane collided with the helicopter.

A chilling video shows the passenger jet coming in low for landing when, over the Potomac River, it suddenly cannons into the helicopter, sending both plunging into the icy waters below. The jet reportedly broke into three pieces. Rescuers desperately searched into the night for survivors but ended up pulling multiple bodies from the water.

As a small flotilla of water craft and helicopters with spotlights searched the river in the hope of a miracle, FAA investigators began an urgent investigation into what went so wrong that a commercial jet and an army helicopter could collide just 5km from Washington.

Mr Trump lashed out at the DEI programs in place at the Federal Aviation Administration, run by the Department of Transportation, and warned there was previously a policy in place to hire people with “severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities.”

“That is amazing,” he said. “This was before I got into office … They put a big push to put diversity into the FAA program.”

Emergency response units conduct search and rescue operations in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport. Picture: Getty Images

Citing media reports, Mr Trump said the FAA was actively recruiting workers who “suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website. Can you imagine?

“These are people that are I mean, actually, their lives are shortened because of the stress that they have. Brilliant people have to be in those positions.

“The FAA website states they include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism – all qualify for the position of a controller of airplanes pouring into our country, pouring into a little spot … little runway,” he said.

He rejected the FAA diversity and inclusion hiring plan which said diversity was “integral” to achieving the mission of “ensuring safe and efficient travel.”

“I don’t think so. I don’t think so. I think it’s just the opposite,” he said.

Former Russian world figure skating champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on board the flight.

Mr Trump took aim at the Democratic Party’s legacy on aviation safety, taking aim at the former secretary of transportation – Pete Buttigieg – and accusing him of running the Department of Transportation into the ground with diversity initiatives.

Former Russian world figure skating champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on board the flight with a group of young skaters they coached, Russian state media reported. Their son Maxim Naumov, a prominent skater who competed for the US in singles, was also feared to have been on board the plane.

The US figure skating governing body confirmed that several skaters, coaches and their family members were on the flight. They had been returning home from a national development camp in Kansas.

The passenger plane and military helicopter collided near the Ronald Reagan National Airport.

Witness Ari Schulman described “a stream of sparks” and what looked like a large firework when the night-time collision erupted overhead as he was driving home.

“Initially I saw the plane and it looked fine, normal. It was right about to head over land,” he told CNN.

“Three seconds later and at that point it was banked all the way to the right … I could see the underside of it, it was lit up a very bright yellow, and there was a stream of sparks underneath it. It looked like a Roman candle.”

Hamaad Raza told CNN his wife was on the plane. “I’m just praying that someone is pulling her out of the river right now as we speak,” he said.

Mr Raza said he received a text message from his wife shortly before the plane was supposed to land.

This poor man Hamaad Raza was waiting for his wife at Reagan Washington airport when her flight (along with 60 other souls) crashed into the freezing Potomac after colliding with a helicopter.

She had just texted him.

Pray for them and their rescuers.

He looks in denial. pic.twitter.com/k1tCH9QdVx

— John McNally 🇬🇧 (@john_mcnally) January 30, 2025

“She texted me that they were landing in 20 minutes,” he said. But his texts back to her were not delivered.

In Wichita, a chaplain was sent to the local airport to comfort relatives of those on the flight.

Wichita mayor Lily Wu urged people to pray for those on board. “We really want to ask each and every Wichitan, Kansan and American to pray for everyone involved in this incident,” Ms Wu said. Washington mayor Muriel Bowser said “our prayers are with everyone involved, and we will continue to keep the public updated as more information becomes available”.

Air traffic control audio obtained by CNN captured the moment when air traffic controllers asked the helicopter if the commercial flight was in sight.

One air traffic controller said: “PAT 2-5 do you have the CRJ (jet) in sight?”

The controller then said: “PAT 2-5 pass behind the CRJ.”

A view of emergency response south of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Picture: AP

The audio then captured audible gasps, including a loud “oooh” in the background apparently from the tower, at the moment of the crash.

Another pilot could be heard saying: “Yeah, we were on short final, and we saw flares from the opposite side of the Potomac.”

The army helicopter was reported to have been on a training flight and was not carrying any military VIPs.

Additional reporting: agencies