This article originally appeared on Politifact.
Even if the emergency workers worked to recover the remains of passengers and crew members who died during the open -air collision of January 29 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, social media users, in particular President Donald Trump’s criticisms said some of Trump’s policies as politicians as Trump as politicians as Trump as Trump policies as Trump contributors to the accident.
“Last week, Trump pulled the head of the transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Coast Guard, and dissolved the advisory committee for air security,” read an X Post. The Associated Press reported on January 21 that Trump had dismissed these chiefs and withdrew all the members of the committee.
Another post X read: “On the 2nd day, you 1. You pulled the head of the Security Administration Transportation, 2. Taken the entire Advisory Committee for Aviation Security, 3. Hiring of all Air traffic controllers, 4. Pulled 100 top FAA Security FAA Security officers. “”
Trump, in his first week in the office, announced radical staff changes, including a job freeze. But aviation experts said there was not much that Trump did who could have precipitated the accident between a Wichita, Kansas and a Black Hawk military helicopter. There was simply too little time – less than 10 days after Trump oaths – for one of his general decrees for having had an effect, experts said.
WATCH: Breaking the moments that have led to the worst catastrophe of American aviation since 2001
Although the Safety Administration transportation, the American Coast Guard and the Air Security Advisory Committee all play roles in air security, “the actions of President Trump would not have led to such an immediate impact,” said Jim Cardoso , a former American Air Force colonel and pilot who is now the main director of the World Institute and National Security at the University of Florida.
“All the processes to control and set up air traffic in the DC zone have been well established for a long time,” said Cardoso. “The staff involved in the accident – the air crew of the two planes and the (air controllers) in place at the time of the accident – would not have been affected by” recent policy changes in Trump decrees since January 20.
It is also imprudent to speculate on the causes so shortly after an accident, said John Cox, a retired pilot who runs an aviation security consulting firm based in Saint Petersburg, Florida.
“At this point, we do not know enough,” said Cox on January 30. Anyone who argues that a specific factor caused the crash which did not even take place 24 hours after it happens made a “baseless” argument, he said.
Cox said the international standard to determine what has caused an accident “is not to speculate. You stay with the facts. The idea is that it is more important to get the right answer than a politically motivated response. »»
The collision survey will probably take months. For the moment, here is what we know about the actions that Trump has taken with aviation and what effect, if necessary, they could have had on this accident.
What does Trump do with aviation?
In an executive decree of January 20, Trump promulgated a job freezing on federal civilian employees, preventing open positions from fulfilling and any new creation position.
However, this order exempted military personnel, the positions “linked to the application of immigration, national security or public security”. Air traffic control would be exempt from hiring frost because of its role in public security, the White House in Politifact told Politifact. The White House has also said that, unlike people named politicians, air traffic controllers do not change between administrations.
On January 21, Trump signed the executive decree, “keeping the Americans safe in aviation”. He eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion, or Dei, hiring and hiring of the Secretary of Transport and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to “return to non -discriminatory hiring and based on merit ”.
WATCH: Trump signs the order of aviation to assess the “damage” caused to air security by diversity policies
He also ordered performance exams for “individuals in critical security positions”.
Addressing journalists on January 30, Trump blamed the diversity of FAA and inclusion hiring policies for the accident.
COX said that all air traffic controllers and air traffic controllers involved in the January 29 crash would, by definition, have undergone the required training requirements and “meets the standards to be in this work” and any membership in the rules ‘would not have changed that.
The New York Times reported on January 30 that the staff of the air traffic control tower was “not normal for the moment and the volume of traffic”, according to an internal Federal Aviation safety ratio Administration. The Tower of Reagan Airport has been under submerge for years, partly due to the turnover of employees and tight budgets, Times reported.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported on January 21 that Trump had dismissed the TSA administrator David Pekoske and the Coast Guard commander Linda Fagan.
However, the security responsibilities of the ASD generally revolve around screening for passenger safety, cargo and aviation workers, and not on the functioning of planes. And the Coast Guard focuses on maritime security.
Trump also dismissed all members of the Aviation Safety Advisory Committee, a group that includes representatives of aeronautical groups in the private sector. They advise the TSA administrator on air security. The group was to meet on February 26; It generally meets four times a year.
An X Post said Trump had drawn 400 “senior officials” from the Federal Aviation Administration and 3,000 air controllers eight days ago. But this is not founded, and the White House told Politifact that no air controllers had been dismissed.
In May 2024, CNN reported that, on the basis of FAA numbers, air traffic control stations faced a shortage of 3,000 controllers, with concerns that workers shortages contributed to long changes and exhaustion .
The political researcher, Caryn Baird, contributed to this report.
