Trump says American Airlines Army helicopter crash should have been prevented
President Trump argued Thursday that it appears to him that the collision between an American Airlines jet and Army helicopter over the Potomac River “should have been prevented.”
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane,” the president added, referring to publicly available air traffic control audio of the incident.
“This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”
In a separate post, Trump wrote: “What a terrible night this has been. God bless you all!”
American Airlines Flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines, was traveling from Wichita, Kan., to Washington when it collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter as it approached Washington Reagan National Airport in Virginia.
There were 60 passengers and 4 crew members aboard the plane.
