Washington:
On Thursday, investigators recovered the black boxes from the passenger plane involved in the mid-air collision with a military helicopter over Washington’s Potomac River, which resulted in 67 fatalities. The rescue teams retrieved the bodies of the victims from the frigid waters.
President Donald Trump turned the incident into a political moment, blaming diversity and inclusion policies that he claimed were implemented during previous Democratic administrations.
Trump’s statement came after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed that the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder had been recovered from the Bombardier jet, a subsidiary of American Airlines, which collided with the Army Black Hawk helicopter late Wednesday.
According to The New York Times, the Reagan National Airport control tower was understaffed at the time of the incident, as only one controller was managing the air traffic of both aircraft, a task that is typically handled by two controllers.
A fiery blaze spread across the night sky, and both aircraft plunged into the icy Potomac River, prompting rescuers to search for bodies in the dark and cold conditions. Over 40 bodies have been recovered so far, according to reports from US media.
Trump’s Political Remarks:
During a press conference about the incident, Trump blamed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies that were, according to him, enacted during the administrations of Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Trump stated, “They issued a directive: ‘It shouldn’t be too white,’ and we need people who are capable.”
This remark came when the US public service confirmed that both aircraft were flying along regular flight paths in clear skies.
Trump also criticized Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s openly gay transportation secretary, accusing him of ruining the sector and firing qualified personnel due to diversity-based decisions.
Victims Among Winter Athletes:
The passenger plane was carrying several American figure skaters and coaches, as confirmed by U.S. Figure Skating. Moscow officials also verified that the Russian pair, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Nomov, who were 1994 world pairs champions, were among the victims.
Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that two Chinese nationals were also involved in the tragedy.
The severity of the crash immediately made it clear that survival was unlikely. One air traffic controller was heard telling a colleague, “I saw a flash of fire, and then it was gone.”
In response to Trump’s statement, Pete Buttigieg and other Democrats criticized him for spreading falsehoods instead of leading the nation to offer support.
