In a briefing that recalled his most extreme first term remarks, President Trump said without any evidence that diversity initiatives caused the midair collision.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy informed the public on Thursday that it is not in fact "standard" for aircraft to collide in midair over U.S. airspace. On Wednesday night, an American Airlines passenger jet carrying 64 people and a U.

The American Airlines flight was carrying 64 people when it collided with a Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport.

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A jet with 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday while approaching the Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington. The aircraft plummeted into the Potomac River and multiple people were killed.

The Trump administration's new Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, has acknowledged the collision of a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines domestic flight mid-air, calling the accident "absolutely" preventable.

President Trump suggested diversity programs are to blame for a deadly plane crash in the nation’s capital. Trump was joined by members of his Cabinet to give their latest update on the cause of this horrific midair collision. The president said the country was in mourning.

Sean Duffy, who was confirmed as the secretary for the Department of Transportation on Tuesday, added a post acknowledging the crash on X. In the post, he noted that he was posting from the headquarters for the Federal Aviation Authority in Washington,

Last year, senators from Virginia and Maryland sounded the alarm over congestion in the skies above Washington.

An American Airlines plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter outside Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. Wednesday evening. Three soldiers were onboard the helicopter and a massive search and rescue operation is now unfolding in the Potomac River.

Wednesday’s fatal collision and two other incidents dramatically illustrate the challenges pilots and air traffic controllers face in the complex, security-sensitive skies above the nation’s capital.

According to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the Army helicopter was on an "annual proficiency training flight" and the three soldiers on board had night vision goggles.