President Donald Trump Blames Air Traffic Controllers and DEI Measures for the D.C. Plane Crash
On Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order putting a freeze on the hiring of federal civilian employees.
Published Jan. 30 2025, 2:14 p.m. ET
An American Airlines passenger plane collided with a Black Hawk Helicopter, causing both aircraft to crash into the Potomac River outside of Washington, D.C. The tragedy occurred a little before 9:00 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2025, and involved 67 individuals total. A little over three hours later, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social where he said it was a clear night, then asked why the helicopter didn't "go up or down, or turn."
President Trump also suggested the control tower didn't tell the helicopter what to do and instead only asked if those pilots "saw the plane." The day after the crash, the president held a press conference where he blamed former President Joe Biden and Democratic diversity measures for the incident. Many believe some of President Trump's numerous executive orders are at fault. Did any involve firing air traffic controllers? Here's what we know.
Did President Trump fire air traffic controllers?
Although President Trump's post to Truth Social suggests that the air traffic controllers in one of the towers at Reagan National Airport were to blame, none were fired by the president in his barrage of executive orders. Mere seconds before the crash occurred, recordings revealed that an air traffic controller asked the Black Hawk crew if they saw the arriving American Airlines plane, per Fortune.
When they received no response, the air traffic controller followed up with, "PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ." The PAT 25 is the helicopter and the CRJ refers to the Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet. The helicopter pilot confirmed that he saw the plane, though didn't specify it was the CRJ, then asked for "visual separation." Essentially they asked to move out of the plane's path while keeping it in sight. They collided almost immediately after.
President Trump did not fire air traffic controllers but he did put a freeze on new hires.
On Jan. 20, 2025, the day President Trump was inaugurated a second time, he issued an executive order putting a freeze on the hiring of federal civilian employees. As part of the freeze, "no federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on Jan. 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or other applicable law." It should be noted that air traffic controllers are federal employees.
In response to this, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Aviation Steve Cohen (D-TN), issued a public statement condemning the president's action. "The bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 directs the Administration to hire the maximum number of air traffic controllers," said Ranking Member Larsen. "Hiring air traffic controllers is the No. 1 safety issue according to the entire aviation industry."
He went on to say, "Instead of working to improve aviation safety and lower costs for hardworking American families, the Administration is choosing to spread bogus DEI claims to justify this decision." Ranking Member Larsen said he wasn't surprised by these "dangerous and divisive actions" and urged the Administration to reverse course.