Trump Claims Helicopter in DC Collision Was ‘Flying Too High’

January 31, 2025 TruthUSA

The president made a statement in a post on Truth Social Friday morning.

On Friday, President Donald Trump claimed that a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter was flying at an excessive altitude prior to its collision with an American Airlines jet near Washington on Wednesday evening, marking the deadliest aviation disaster in the U.S. in years.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump asserted that the Army “helicopter was flying too high, by a lot” and “was far above the 200 foot limit,” which is the maximum allowable altitude for those helicopter flights.

He questioned, “That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it?” The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the crash, and a cause has not yet been established.

The collision resulted in the deaths of 60 passengers and four crew members aboard the flight, while three individuals on the Black Hawk also perished, according to officials and Trump. By Thursday morning, the head of Washington’s fire department indicated that the operation had shifted from search-and-rescue to body recovery.

The aircraft, American Eagle Flight No. 5342, a regional jet operated by American Airlines, was en route from Wichita, Kansas, to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The incident occurred around 9 p.m. ET as the plane approached the runway over the Potomac River, federal officials reported.

A live stream camera positioned at Washington’s Kennedy Center captured the moment of the collision, with footage showing an explosion in the vicinity of the Potomac River.

The crash claimed victims from various countries, including Russia, China, Germany, and the Philippines, as well as young figure skaters and individuals from Kansas, from which the passenger flight originated, officials stated.

This incident is regarded as the deadliest aviation-related accident since November 2001, when an American Airlines flight crashed into a residential area in Belle Harbor, New York, shortly after takeoff, killing all 260 people aboard.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday that there may have been an elevation issue concerning the Black Hawk, and investigators are currently examining this possibility.

Despite this, both Hegseth and the Army confirmed that the three-member crew aboard the Black Hawk was relatively seasoned. The Army stated that the instructor pilot, who was responsible for command, had logged 1,000 flying hours, while the other pilot had approximately 500 hours of experience.

According to American Airlines CEO Robert Isom, the pilot of American Eagle Flight 5342 had around six years of flying experience. This jet was operated by PSA Airlines, a regional subsidiary.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) raised concerns regarding the safety of allowing military and commercial flights to operate with as little as a 350-foot vertical and horizontal separation. She also urged the government to reevaluate the frequency of helicopter flights near such a busy airport.

In contrast, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asserted during a news conference on Thursday that the flight paths of both aircraft were typical for the area and that both the helicopter and airplane were adhering to standard flight patterns.

In a series of posts on X, Duffy stated that the families of the victims should find assurance in his commitment to “find answers to how this happened” and noted that he has “directed every relevant agency to immediately investigate what went wrong” and will “not tolerate delays or bureaucratic excuses.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

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