President Trump Orders “Immediate Assessment Of Aviation Safety” As New FAA Deputy Administrator Sworn In
Donald Trump
, the President of the United States, has continued to push misleading and false narratives that allege that the January 29 accident involving an American Eagle
(PSA Airlines) Mitsubishi CRJ700 and a US Army (USA) Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was the fault of the decisions made by his predecessors as he appointed a new, acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Assessment of aviation safety
In the wake of the accident near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
(DCA) on January 29, which claimed the lives of 67 people onboard the CRJ700 operating American Airlines Flight 5342
and the USA UH-60 Black Hawk, Trump issued an executive order on January 30.
According to the order, the crash followed “problematic and likely illegal decisions during the Obama and Biden Administrations that minimized merit and competence in the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA
).”
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Without providing proof, considering that the last crash involving a major US airline that resulted in the loss of life was in 2009 when a Colgan Air De Havilland Canada (née Bombardier) DHC Q400 Dash 8 crashed near Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF), Trump alleged that former president Barack Obama’s administration implemented policies that shifted hiring focus from objective aptitude.
Colgan Air operated the flight on behalf of Continental Airlines and its regional brand, Continental Connection.
To note, a single passenger passed away when a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, registered as N772SW, experienced an engine failure in April 2018, with the CFM International CFM56’s parts penetrating the fuselage. The traveler was partially sucked out of the cabin, resulting in the sole fatality.
Trump’s dangerous and meritless rhetoric also alleged that Joe Biden, another former US president, “egregiously rejected merit-based hiring,” instead focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Related
US DOT New Head Announces End To Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Policies
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a branch of the DOT, still does not have an Administrator or a Deputy Administrator.
Bypassing the NTSB
However, in addition to the baseless order that additionally alleged that the FAA “specifically” hired individuals with “‘severe intellectual’ disabilities,” Trump claimed that DEI was at fault for the accident on January 29.
Not only did he bypass the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB
), which, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s ( ICAO
) Annex 13, has 30 days to publish a preliminary report that would at least provide further insight about the chain of events that led to the fatal crash, but he also said that he based his claims on his “common sense” during a White House press conference on January 30, according to CNN.
“I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary, you remember that. Only the highest aptitude, they have to be the highest intellect and psychologically superior people, were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers.”
As mentioned above, there had been no fatal crashes involving major US airlines or their regional subsidiaries since 2009 before the CRJ700
and UH-60 Black Hawk plunged into the Potomac River just east of Washington-National on January 29.
Photo: NTSB
Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the NTSB, who was appointed by Trump in 2018, pleaded for more time for investigators during a press briefing on January 30, noting that the board has substantial amounts of information.
“We need to verify the information, we need to take our time to make sure it is accurate.”
Nevertheless, Trump’s January 30 order mandated Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation, who also began his tenure by issuing ‘anti-woke’ mandates at the DOT, and Chris Rocheleau, who was sworn in as the acting Administrator of the FAA in January, to review all hiring decisions and changes to safety protocols from the past four years.
“This review shall include a systematic assessment of any deterioration in hiring standards and aviation safety standards and protocols during the Biden Administration.”
That is not to say that the National Airspace System (NAS) has not faced its challenges during the last few years. In addition to technology-related deficiencies, the FAA has faced an acute shortage of air traffic controllers (ATC), which has resulted in delays across the nation’s busiest air corridors and a string of near-miss incidents throughout 2023 and 2024. None of them resulted in fatal injuries.
Related
American Eagle Flight 5342 Crash Raises Questions Of Congestion In DC Airspace
The local airport authority noted that pilots described Washington-National as one of the most challenging in the US.
New FAA leadership
Still, Trump’s administration at least appointed someone to lead the FAA, with the Department of Transportation ( DOT
), the parent agency of the regulator, tapping Chris Rocheleau, who had spent over 20 years at the FAA before moving to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) in 2022.
The appointment confirmed a previous The Air Current report. On January 30, the FAA updated Rocheleau’s biography page, indicating that he was named the acting Administrator sometime in January.
Photo: FAA
Mike Whitaker, the former Administrator of the FAA, left his post on January 20, the same day that Trump had been sworn in. Elon Musk, who has essentially bought his place as the left-hand man of Trump, and has made questionable decisions, including doing a Nazi salute twice during Trump’s inauguration, had previously criticized Whitaker.
This includes alleging that a $633,009 fine the FAA slapped on SpaceX
in September 2024 was “regulatory overreach.” In a follow-up complaint on X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk said that Whitaker needed to resign.
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Breaking: American Eagle CRJ700 Crashes In Potomac River After Helicopter Collision
The regional jet was just seconds from touching down at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
