Donald Trump has addressed the D.C. plane crash after his official statement. The President had initially promised to keep “monitoring” the situation and provide more information on the matter. He returned to his social media platform with a post where he shared that the crash should have been “prevented”.
The nation of the USA was left shocked after a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger plane carrying civilians crashed in the middle of the night. 67 people in total were affected by the tragic accident.
The last report revealed that 18 bodies had been recovered from the Potomac River. A widespread search-and-rescue was carried out following the operation in which 300 responders worked into the night to save the victims.
A video that was recovered by live-stream company Earthcam showed the plane and helicopter colliding with each other. The mid-air collision happened between a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet and a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter near the Reagan Washington National Airport.
This accident happened just after Donald Trump placed a hiring freeze on air traffic controllers and gutted an air safety advisory committee.#TrumpPlaneAccident pic.twitter.com/vUPb0kGvLO
— Patricia: @ASU🇺🇦 A failed coup is still a coup. (@patyvillaescusa) January 30, 2025
Donald Trump finally broke his silence through a post he made on Truth Social. “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport,” the Republican wrote. He also revealed that the helicopter was seemingly going “straight at the aeroplane” for an “extended” span of time.
“It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn,” the President added. He also questioned the personnel in the control tower.
“Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane,” the post read. He went on to say that what happened was a “bad situation” that “should have been prevented.”
Trump’s cryptic post left many people speculating and Bill Ackman was one of them. The American billionaire took to X to state that the incident “sounds more like terrorism than an accident.”
Several people in the comments section immediately shut the speculation down sensing the sensitivity of the matter. “Mr. Ackman, there are families and human lives involved right now. Too early to make assumptions of that weight right now. Show some sympathy would go a long way,” a user commented.
Ackman acknowledged the comment and stated that he was sympathetic about the situation but “struggling” to understand what went wrong. A user by the name of Robert Maxwell, who claimed to be a pilot of 10 years debunked Ackman’s speculation.
How does an incredibly maneuverable military helicopter fly into a regional aircraft by accident with all of the sensors and warning devices designed to prevent an accident like this one?
It sounds more like terrorism than an accident. Perhaps an expert on Blackhawks can weigh… https://t.co/iTUQ6UzAzl
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) January 30, 2025
“Mil can’t see through the ceiling; RJ can’t see through the floor. But RJ is on a precision instrument (ILS) approach and is cleared to land, so their only job is to manage glide slope and guide it onto the runway,” Maxwell explained.
He noted in his post that the “mil” was at fault referring to the military jet. The pilot concluded his post by writing, “Not terrorism, but so sad. RIP.” Another user on the other hand agreed with the post while commenting, “Looks deliberate but I’m no expert.”
An FBI official also cleared the air of speculation around the situation while noting that the incident was an accident. There is “no indication of criminality or terrorism in the crash,” the official told NBC News.