Following a mid-air collision between an American Airlines plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, DC, on Wednesday night, former US President Donald Trump blamed his predecessors, Joe Biden and Barack Obama, for weakening air safety standards. All 67 people on board both aircraft are feared dead.
Trump Criticizes Air Safety Standards
During a press briefing on Thursday, Trump accused the Democratic administrations of prioritizing policy over citizen safety.
“Democrats put policy first, and they put politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen,” he stated. He further emphasized the importance of high intelligence for air traffic controllers, suggesting that the Obama and Biden administrations had lowered the standards.
“I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary. Only the highest intellect and psychologically superior people were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers,” Trump claimed. “When I left office and Biden took over, he changed them back to lower than ever before.”
National and International Impact of the Crash
Trump acknowledged the devastating impact of the collision, mourning the loss of life and emphasizing that international citizens, including Russian nationals, were on board.
“Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history,” he said. “We had a Russian contingent on the plane, some very talented people. Unfortunately, they were on that plane, and we are very sorry about that.”
He assured that efforts would be made to determine the cause of the disaster and to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas. We will find out how this disaster occurred and we will ensure that nothing like this ever happens again,” Trump added.
Authorities Confirm No Survivors
Earlier in the day, US authorities confirmed that rescue efforts had transitioned into a recovery mission.
“We are now at a point where we’re switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident,” said DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly during a news conference.
Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser also addressed the tragedy at a press briefing at Reagan National Airport.
The collision occurred when an American Airlines passenger plane carrying 64 people and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter with three soldiers on board crashed into the Potomac River following the mid-air collision.