Updated January 30, 2025 at 16:34 PM ET
Authorities say they will not speculate on the cause of the deadly midair crash between a regional passenger jet and a military helicopter Wednesday evening near Washington, D.C., despite President Trump's apparently baseless assertions that the collision had been caused by diversity initiatives within the Federal Aviation Administration.
"We will not be determining the probable cause of the accident while we are here on scene, nor will we speculate about what may have caused this accident," J. Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said during a Thursday briefing about the collision.
"We will help find out what happened. We will do it factually and we will do it accurately," Inman said.
Investigators believe there will likely be no survivors in the midair crash involving an American Airlines regional jet and a Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday night in the skies above the nation's capital.
Pushing back on speculations, Inman said there was a very low likelihood that emergency departure mechanisms had been deployed to free surviving passengers.
"Nothing we've seen would indicate that maybe slides or chutes were deployed," Inman said, calling the collision a "very quick, rapid impact."
As of Thursday morning, rescue crews continue to search the frigid waters of the Potomac River, in which pieces of the jet and helicopter have fallen.
In a White House press briefing on the crash, President Trump said the search mission has turned into recovery efforts as of late morning.
"We are one family today and we are all heartbroken," he said.
Officials say 28 bodies have been recovered so far. There were 64 people on the plane and three on the Black Hawk. Among the passengers of the jet were members of the U.S. Figure Skating team, several Russian figure skaters, coaches and family members, according to U.S. Figure Skating and Russian state media.
The crash could be the most significant disaster in U.S. airspace in at least 15 years. The investigation is in its early hours and the cause of the midair collision is still unclear.
During a press briefing, Trump shared a number of possible theories of the cause of the crash, including that diversity efforts at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are to blame. His administration has made eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs a top priority across the federal government.
How did this happen?
The midair collision happened as the jet, operated by PSA Airlines on behalf of American Airlines, was attempting to land at Reagan just before 9 p.m. EST on Wednesday. The plane was traveling from Wichita, Kan. It carried 60 passengers and four crew members (two pilots and two flight attendants).
The U.S. Army Black Hawk carried three soldiers and was traveling from Fort Belvoir in Virginia, the Pentagon says. The three were "experienced" crew members taking part in a training exercise, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday morning.
The jet was flying from south to north and lining up to land at the airport when it collided with the Black Hawk, which was flying from north to south, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said during a press conference. The two aircraft collided at a low altitude.
Video recorded from the Kennedy Center, an arts and culture center located a few miles from the crash site, shows a small aircraft approaching the jet and then a bright explosion that lit up the dark night sky.
According to audio archived by LiveATC.net, which provides live air traffic control broadcasts from air traffic control towers and radar facilities around the world, the plane had initially been cleared to land on runway 1. But an air traffic controller asked the flight crew if they could use runway 33 instead.
This is not an unusual request at this airport, which is incredibly busy and requires a delicate dance to handle the mix of arriving and departing aircraft in very complicated airspace around the D.C. area. There are many military and law enforcement helicopters always operating in the vicinity.
The crash comes after a growing trend of troubling near-collisions near runways across the country.
With no evidence, Trump alleges DEI, night vision to blame for crash
President Trump began his press briefing Thursday morning with a moment of silence for the tragedy that overnight. He then turned to speculating about a number of theories as to what might have contributed to the crash.
But asked by a reporter how he could conclude that diversity had to do with the crash while the investigation is ongoing, the president responded: "Because I have common sense, OK? And unfortunately, a lot of people don't. We want brilliant people doing this." He blamed past Democratic administrations for, he claimed, lowering standards.
The president also suggested that warnings of the imminent crash came too late from the air traffic controller and that the helicopter pilot "should have seen where they were going." He said that night vision equipment could have contributed to the accident and alluded to "tapes" of the communications with air traffic control at the time, which have not been formally released.
He also questioned why the helicopter and American Airlines jet were at the same elevation. He said that the American Airlines flight was on the correct path.
It is unclear what, if any, evidence contributed to the president's claims. An investigation is ongoing as to what went wrong and conclusive answers are likely to take some time.
Trump picks a new acting FAA head after more than a week of vacancy
Trump said Thursday that he would immediately appoint an acting commissioner to the FAA. The agency had been without a leader for over a week after its previous head, Mike Whitaker, resigned on Inauguration Day. It is not unusual for FAA administrators to leave at the end of an administration, though some have stayed on longer.
Trump's acting pick to fill the role is Christopher Rocheleau, whom the president described as a "highly respected" 22-year veteran of the agency.
Rocheleau held multiple roles at the FAA during his two-decade tenure, including acting administrator for aviation safety and executive director for international affairs, according to the National Business Aviation Association, where he most recently served as chief operating officer.
Prior to his time at the FAA, he served as an officer and special agent with the U.S. Air Force and was one of the early leaders of the Transportation Security Administration, which was created in the aftermath of 9/11.
What is the latest on recovery efforts?
John Donnelly, the chief of Washington D.C.'s Fire and EMS, said the first alert came in at 8:48 p.m. and they arrived ten minutes later. He said there are 300 responders from neighboring counties and cities as far north as Baltimore coming to assist in the immediate aftermath. It's a "highly complex operation" with "extremely rough" conditions as temperatures hovered around 36 degrees overnight, according to NOAA's National Ocean Service, with added wind.
Donnelly said the crash site in the Potomac River is about eight feet deep and icy.
"It's just dangerous and hard to work in. And because there's not a lot of lights, you're out there searching every square inch of space to see if you can find anybody. Divers are doing the same thing in the water. The water is dark. It is murky. And that is a very tough condition for them to dive in," he said."
The National Transportation Safety Board and American Airlines representatives are at the crash site.
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Who was on the plane?
The names and ranks of the three Black Hawk crew members will be withheld for now as next of kin notifications are ongoing, Defense Secretary Hegseth said.
The unit involved in the crash were of the Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion and were flying out of Fort Belvoir, he said. The crew were taking part in their annual proficiency training flight and were undergoing night evaluation. They were also fitted with night vision goggles, he said.
"It's a tragedy and a horrible loss of life," Hegseth said.
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed in a statement that several members, including athletes, coaches and family members, were aboard the American Airlines jet and were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.
"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available," U.S. Figure Skating said.
Former Russian world champions — and husband and wife — Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were identified as victims of the crash, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Naumov and Shishkova were on both the Soviet and Russian figure skating teams and won the World Championships in pairs figure skating in 1994.
They moved to the U.S. in 1998 and appear to have stayed involved in the sport: They are both listed as coaches on the website of the Skating Club of Boston.
Trump said there were passengers from at least two other nations beyond the U.S. and Russia on the jet.
How are operations at Reagan National impacted?
A ground stop was ordered at Reagan National Airport lasting for several hours after the crash. Operations at the airport have since resumed.
"Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority CEO John Potter said, speaking at a Thursday morning news conference at the airport, "It's safe. We've worked with all the federal agencies, FAA. And, you know, it's been determined that we can open that airport safely."
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