Trump, Musk Blame DEI For Plane Crash: Authorities Look At Staffing, Congestion For Answers, Search Continues After 41 Bodies Found

An American Airlines AAL plane and an Army helicopter’s mid-air collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has authorities looking for answers as President Donald Trump lashes out at DEI policies as an early scapegoat.

What Happened: The Wednesday night crash led to the death of 67 people aboard the two aircraft after which the search and rescue mission quickly turned into a recovery mission.

A total of 41 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage along with black boxes from the plane. Officials continue to look for the black box aboard the Army helicopter, reported NBC News.

American Airlines announced Friday that flight number 5342 will be retired and renamed as flight number 5677. Changing flight numbers after accidents is a common practice for the industry.

The Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is operating as normal on Friday after facing closures following the accident.

Wednesday's plane crash is the deadliest aviation incident in the United States in 23 years.

Read Also: Trump’s Comments On American Airlines Crash ‘Despicable,’ Says Pete Buttigieg: President Should Be ‘Leading, Not Lying’

What Could Investigation Find?: The investigation, which is being led by the National Transportation Safety Board, is in the early stages and preliminary findings from the black boxes could take around 30 days to be made public.

Early reports in the investigation from the Federal Aviation Administration point to one air traffic controller being left to do the jobs of two people, the New York Times reported.

The airport often has one air traffic controller handling air traffic and one handling helicopters. On some nights after 9:30 p.m. when traffic is lower, one person handles both duties. The report said on Wednesday one traffic controller was allowed to leave before 9:30 leaving one person in charge of both duties earlier than normal.

The FAA investigation said this was "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic."

Audio recordings hear the traffic controller asking the helicopter to stay away from the flight path of the plane.

The helicopter also allegedly flew outside its approved flight plan and the airplane was told to land at a different runway than originally planned, adding additional complications to landing at the airport.

Another item factoring into the investigation is a shortage of air traffic controllers at the airport with some employees working six days a week and 10 hours a day, which may lead to fatigue and impact the ability to do their jobs.

An FAA spokesperson said the airport had 25 certified air traffic controllers out of a goal of 28. Reports show there were 19 controllers back in September 2023 with the union asking for 30.

The plane crash and investigation follows changes made at several key government agencies in recent days. On Jan. 21, Trump fired the heads of the Coast Guard and Transportation Security Administration and eliminated the Aviation Security Advisory Committee.

Former Federal Aviation Administration leader Michael Whitaker resigned from his position on Jan. 20, a move that came months after Trump-ally Elon Musk demanded he quit his position.

Helicopter traffic around the airport has been an ongoing concern flagged by pilots before and could factor into the investigation and lead to changes.

On Tuesday, another flight set to land at Reagan Washington National Airport had to go around due to helicopter traffic, NBC News reported.  

A review of complaints by NBC 5 found at least 16 complaints since 2006 of pilots having close calls with helicopters or other airplanes when trying to land at the airport.

Included in the complaints is one from April 2024 where a pilot said he did not see a helicopter 300 feet below his aircraft and received no warning from air traffic control.

Trump's Blame Game: Trump has suggested in the days following the accident that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies "could have been" a cause of the plane crash.  

When asked about coming to the conclusion that DEI was to blame and providing evidence, Trump snapped back at a reporter.

"Because I have common sense. OK? And unfortunately, a lot of people don't. We want brilliant people doing this," Trump said.  

Also supporting Trump's public blaming DEI for the deadly accident was billionaire Elon Musk, who owns the X social media platform.

Musk shared multiple posts from people suggesting DEI factored into the equation or could be a reason why the aircrafts collided. Musk also shared a New York Post article about the FAA pushing for diversity in hiring.

"Under the Biden administration, the FAA and other government agencies had absolutely insane hiring practices that endangered the public. President @realDonaldTrump and his team are working rapidly to restore competent personnel to all positions involving your safety," Musk tweeted.

Reporters asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about Trump's remarks during a press briefing Friday.

"Given DEI hires, it's not safe to fly commercially, is it?" Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked.

Leavitt said it is still safe, a comment that could contradict what Trump said the day before.

Doocy also asked if the air traffic controller in the DCA tower Wednesday was hired or not fired previously because of their race.

"That investigation is ongoing," Leavitt answered.

AAL Price Action: American Airlines stock is up 1% to $17.04 on Friday versus a 52-week trading range of $9.07 to $19.10. The stock dropped Thursday and is now trading nearly flat in 2024 with shares up 20% over the last year.