President Donald Trump has attributed last week’s devastating mid-air collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter to an outdated air traffic control system, vowing to replace it with a modernized alternative.
The tragic accident occurred on January 29 when an American Airlines flight departing from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a Black Hawk helicopter as it prepared to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. The crash claimed the lives of all 67 people on board both aircraft.
Initially, Trump suggested diversity hiring initiatives contributed to the incident. However, during his address at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, he shifted the blame to the air traffic control system, criticizing it as “obsolete.”
“It’s amazing that it happened,” Trump stated. “I think this tragedy will lead to something good. We need a brand-new, fully computerized system for our control towers, not an outdated one patched together over decades.”
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He argued that billions of dollars had been wasted attempting to renovate an already “broken system” instead of investing in an entirely new one. Trump claimed that even his private jet relied on a foreign air traffic control system because his pilot believed the U.S. system was inadequate.
For years, federal officials have voiced concerns about the country’s air traffic control system, highlighting chronic staffing shortages and excessive workloads. Issues such as uncompetitive salaries, long hours, and mandatory retirements have led to a decline in air traffic controllers, increasing the risk of accidents.
Trump suggested that a more advanced system could have prevented the collision by triggering automated alarms when the Black Hawk helicopter reached the same altitude as the approaching plane.
However, a report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) following the crash contradicts Trump’s assertions. The FAA stated that the air traffic controller received an alert that the two aircraft were on a collision course while they were still over a mile apart., the controller instructed the helicopter to pass behind the plane, and the pilot confirmed that the aircraft was in sight.
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Investigators are focusing on determining the exact altitude of both aircraft. Data from the jet’s flight recorder indicated an altitude of approximately 325 feet (99 meters), while air traffic control data suggested that the helicopter was flying above its 200-foot (61-meter) limit.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that the radar system rounded the helicopter’s altitude reading to 300 feet (91 meters).
Authorities are now working to retrieve the wreckage of the submerged Black Hawk helicopter to verify critical flight data. Recovery efforts are expected to conclude later this week.
