President Donald Trump provided a major update on Thursday to Americans on the deadly midair collision at Reagan National Airport.
While speaking in the White House briefing room, the president began things by holding a moment of silence for all of the victims, calling it a moment of “anguish.”
“Sadly, there are no survivors,” Trump said.
“Together we take solace in the knowledge that their journey ended not in the cold waters of the Potomac, but in the warm embrace of a loving God,” Trump said.
Trump added: “They are working tirelessly to figure out exactly what happened. We will state certain opinions, however. I’m also immediately appointing an acting commissioner to the FAA, Christopher Rocheleau, a 22-year veteran of the agency, highly respected. Christopher, thank you very much. Appreciate it.”
Trump also tore into DEI and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, calling him a “disaster” who just had a “good line of bullsh*t.”
“The FAA website shows that the agency’s guidance on diversity hiring were last updated on March 23rd of ‘22. They wanted to make it even more so. And then I came in, and I assume maybe this is the reason. The FAA, which is overseen by Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a real winner, that guy’s a real winner. Do you know how badly everything’s run since he’s run this Department of Transportation? He’s a disaster. He was a disaster as a mayor. He ran his city into the ground, and he’s a disaster now. He’s just got a good line of bullshit. The Department of Transportation, his government agency charged with regulating civil aviation. Well, he runs it, 45,000 people, and he’s run it right into the ground with his diversity,” Trump said.
WATCH:
WATCH LIVE: President Trump gives remarks after DCA crash
https://t.co/VDmb1Zwzfo— The Hill (@thehill) January 30, 2025
Trump made a statement on Wednesday evening after a passenger plane collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C.
“I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan International Airport,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “May God Bless their souls.”
“Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise,” he added.
The president then followed up his original posts raising some questions about what may have happened.
“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. “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. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”
He concluded, “What a terrible night this has been. God bless you all!”
WATCH:
Helicopter and plane crash in DC. Video here. Pilots can respond, but how is this possible? pic.twitter.com/OiTsLCDWJa
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 30, 2025
U.S. and Russian figure skaters were aboard the American Airlines flight, multiple reports said. According to U.S. Figure Skating, the athletes, along with coaches and family members, were returning home from a training camp in Wichita, Kansas.
“U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.,” the organization said. “These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”
Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, former pairs champions who won the 1994 World Championship and competed in two Winter Olympics, were also on board the plane, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to reporters on Thursday, according to Fox News.
“Unfortunately, we see that this sad information is being confirmed. There were other fellow citizens there. Bad news today from Washington. We are sorry and send condolences to the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in the plane crash,” he said.
John Donnelly, Chief of the District of Columbia Fire Department, said Thursday that “we don’t think there are any survivors from this accident.”
“We have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter,” he added.
“Despite all these efforts, we are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” he also said.
“The district office of the medical examiner has [the] lead on reuniting these bodies and these people, with their loved ones,” Donnelly continued. “And we will continue to work to find all the bodies and collect them. and reunite them with their loved ones.”
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said Thursday morning that an investigation into the deadly incident likely will involve whether there was any communication between the two aircraft as well as air traffic control.