President Donald Trump commenced Thursday’s news briefing from the White House with a moment of silence to honour the victims and their families.
“I’d like to request a moment of silence for the victims and their families,” Trump said, bowing his head.
The POTUS confirmed that there were no survivors from the mid-air collision between a military helicopter and a passenger plane over the Potomac River the previous day.
“Sadly, there are no survivors,” Trump stated from the White House briefing room on Thursday. He called it an “hour of anguish” for the American people and requested a moment of silence at the beginning of his remarks.
“The work has now shifted to a recovery mission,” Trump added, noting that Wednesday was “a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history.”
Trump assures families of crash victims
The president extended his support to the families affected, assuring them that the administration was “searching for answers.” He stated, “We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas. We’ll find out how this disaster occurred and we’ll ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.”
American Eagle Flight No. 5342 departed from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members crashed with an Army Black Hawk helicopter transporting three soldiers near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Trump announced his immediate appointment of Christopher Rocheleau as acting commissioner of the Federal Aviation Administration. He noted the collision occurred on a “very clear night” and questioned why “adjustments weren’t made.”
“I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first,” he remarked.
ALSO READ| Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s FBI pick, greets parents with ‘Jai Shri Krishna’. Video goes viral
Joining Trump at the briefing was newly sworn-in Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who outlined a “whole of government response” and promised a swift investigation. “We will get to the bottom of this investigation—not in three years, not in four years, but as quickly as possible.”
Duffy emphasized that “what happened yesterday shouldn’t have happened,” and added, “When Americans take off in airplanes, they should expect to land at their destination.”
