Donald Trump gave a meandering response when he was investigated for a surge in plane crash drops in US soil since he took office while flying in Air Force 1.
Five people were hospitalized when the president answered questions about a recent aviation accident when he returned to Washington, D.C. Sunday evening, when five people returned to Washington, D.C., just hours after the small aircraft got off the ground near the retirement village of Mannheim Township, Pennsilivania.
One reporter asked if his transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, had “legal concerns,” including “annihilation,” which included the firing of 400 federal aviation workers last month — the president argued that the recent crash “has nothing to do with the department.”
“It was a small plane and, as you understand it, it would have happened whether he had a big division or a small division,” Trump said, referring to the Penrivania crash.
“They just have a spurt like this. You know, they're when things happen a little more often than normal, and then it comes back and you go for years without any problems.”
Donald Trump answered questions about the recent spread of US air disasters while flying in Air Force 1 (Fox News/X)
Data from the National Transportation Safety Board shows that the first two months of the year were fewer than the average aviation accident.
In January and February, there are usually around 20 fatal aviation accidents, including all civil aviation, in the United States per month, ranging from large commercial aircraft to civil jets. According to the NTSB, there were only 11 fatal aviation accidents this January, and 10 fatal accidents in February.
Also, there were fatal and nonfatal total aviation accidents (not fatal and not fatal) in January, per NTSB data. The 74 aviation accidents in February fell from 93 in the same month last year.
Emergency workers coordinate wreckage from the Potomac River in the aftermath of the American Eagle Flight 5342 and Black Hawk Helicopter (Reuters) clash with emergency workers
The president implemented the weaving to praise Southwest Airlines pilots narrowly avoid a collision with a private jet that was crossing the runway at Chicago's Midway Airport while Flight 2504 was about to land.
The Pennsylvania crash is the latest in a series of aviation accidents that included 67 passengers and crew members killed when American Airlines Flight 5342 and a military Black Hawk helicopter collided on the Potomac River in Washington, DC on January 29th.
Trump used a deadly Air Force clash to attack his two democratic predecessors, controversially suggesting that the tragedy was the result of a DEI initiative in the government.
A small commuter plane crashed in western Alaska on a flight bound by the Ngome hub community on February 7, 2025 (US Coast Guard)
Two days later, a small medical transport crashed into a giant fireball near the Roosevelt Mall in Philadelphia, killing seven people, including six passengers on board.
On February 6th, nine passengers and pilots were confirmed dead after crashing near Norton Sound in rural Alaska, followed by a planned crash in Norton Sound in rural Alaska.
Two people were killed in an airplane crash at Marana Regional Airport in Marana, Arizona on February 20th.
