Trump Fired Key FAA Personnel, Then a Plane Crash Happened And Now He Blames Obama

Staff Writer
Donald Trump. (Photo: Archive)

When a tragic mid-air collision occurred near Washington, D.C. between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Eagle passenger plane, President Trump quickly found a way to shift the blame. Not only did he question the actions of FAA leadership, but he also blamed former President Barack Obama’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies for contributing to the crash.

Trump’s criticism came shortly after he had pushed out several key FAA officials during his presidency, leaving the agency without confirmed leadership when the disaster happened. One of the most significant moves was his ousting of Michael Whitaker, the FAA administrator. Trump ousted Whitaker under pressure from tech mogul Elon Musk. Musk had been vocal about his frustrations with Whitaker, claiming that the FAA was stifling SpaceX’s ambitions, Musk’s aerospace company, over safety issues.

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Trump also removed the heads of the TSA and the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, a group set up after the 1988 PanAm bombing to advise on airline safety.

With these key figures gone, the FAA was left without the full support it needed when the collision occurred. The agency, now without permanent leadership, has struggled with a shortage of air traffic controllers, and its ability to manage safety concerns has been questioned. Trump’s quick-to-blame approach raised more eyebrows when he speculated about the crash without waiting for the facts.

Trump posted on social media: “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period 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? Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane?”

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Trump also went further, claiming the Obama administration’s push for DEI policies weakened the FAA. He suggested that these policies had led to a focus on diversity over qualifications, which he implied could have compromised safety standards. He didn’t provide any evidence to back up this claim, but it quickly became part of his narrative about the crash.

In addition to blaming Obama’s DEI initiatives, Trump and others speculated about terrorism, with billionaire Bill Ackman suggesting the crash could have been intentional. The FBI quickly shot down that theory, saying there was no evidence of criminal activity. Meanwhile, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser reminded the public that the focus needed to be on recovery efforts, not conspiracy theories.

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