American Eagle Flight 5342 departed from Wichita, Kansas and was en route to Washington D.C., carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, when the passenger jet crashed into an Army helicopter, carrying three passengers, over the Potomac River.
Days before the fatal crash, President Donald Trump removed the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the leader of the Coast Guard in an effort to reconstruct the Department of Homeland Security.
Additionally, Trump ordered the termination of all members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, which is a key aviation security advisory group.
On Jan. 30, President Trump held a press briefing at the White House and said that every asset is at disposal, including the U.S. Coast Guard which was “mobilized immediately.” President Trump also expressed condolences to all those impacted by the crash.
President Trump said the FAA, NTSB and the U.S. military will be carrying out a “systematic and comprehensive” investigation.
Also during the press briefing, President Trump said, “We do not know what led to the crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas and I think we’ll probably state those opinions now.”
In this segment of the press briefing, President Trump blames diversity initiatives for weakened air traffic control.
Trump goes on to say, “when I left office and Biden took over, he changed them back to lower than ever before. I put safety first, Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first, and they put politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen, because this was the lowest level. Their policy was horrible, and their politics was even worse. So, as you know last week, long before the crash, I signed an executive order restoring our highest standards for air traffic controllers and other important jobs throughout the country…”
President Trump then claims that the FAA had a diversity push that included “hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities” and that the FAA pushed to “put diversity into the FAA’s program.”
Trump also claims during the press briefing that the FAA is “actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative…”
During the plane crash, the role of administrator within the Federal Aviation Administration was vacant due to previous administrator Michael Whitaker resigning the week President Trump took office.
President Trump has since appointed Christopher Rocheleau to be the new head of the Federal Aviation Administration.
However, key positions within U.S. aviation remain vacant after President Trump‘s executive order terminated numerous aviation employees.
“The Trump Administration today ordered the termination of all current memberships on advisory committees within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A memorandum from Benjamine C. Huffman, Acting DHS Secretary, stated that ‘future committee activities will be focused solely on advancing our critical mission to protect the homeland and support DHS’s strategic priorities,'” says Victims of Pan Am Flight 103.
In addition to this, former TSA administrator David Pekoske stepped down after being advised by a transition team that he would be removed as administrator once President Trump took office.
Since David Pekoske’s resignation, Melanie Harvey has been appointed to be the acting administrator of TSA.
Presley Bo Tyler is a reporter for the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team for Gannett/USA Today. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@Gannett.com
