Trump Blames 'Diversity Hiring' Under Obama, Biden Administrations For US Plane Crash

President Trump attributed a fatal helicopter-plane crash to diversity policies under Obama and Biden, claiming they prioritized diversity over safety.

File photo of US President Donald Trump

Source : PTI

US President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed diversity policies under Barack Obama and Joe Biden for poor safety standards after a deadly crash in which a military helicopter collided with a passenger plane over Washington, news agency AFP reported.

Trump said, "I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first." He added, "They actually came out with a directive: 'too white.' And we want the people that are competent."

“They spent a lot of money renovating a system, spending much more money than they would have spent if they bought a new system for air traffic controllers, meaning the computerized systems. There are certain companies that do a very good job. They didn't use those companies,” Donald Trump said. 

As per the details, American Flight 5342 that had come in from Wichita, Kansas, with 60 passengers and four crew hit a Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter with three military personnel on board while approaching National Airport near Washington, DC. The collision took place around 9 PM (local time) on Wednesday. Both aircraft fell into the Potomac River, and no one survived.

Donald Trump has also confirmed that there were no survivors in the crash. The US President said. “The work has now shifted to a recovery mission. Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation's capital and in our nation's history, and a tragedy of terrible proportions."

“As one nation, we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly...This has shaken a lot of people, including people, very sadly, from other nations who were on the flight,” he said.

Reagan National is a major airport located only a short distance from downtown Washington, the Pentagon and other major sites in the capital. The airspace is extremely busy, with civilian and military aircraft a constant presence.