JAKARTA - President Donad Trump criticized the policy of the diversity of the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), during a collision between American Airlines passenger aircraft and military helicopters, becoming the deadliest crash in the United States in 20 years.

The American Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 jet with flight number 5342 carrying 60 passengers and four crew collided with the Black Hawk helicopter with three crew members and crashed into the Potomac River while preparing to land at Washington's Reagan National Airport on Wednesday.

US authorities said on Thursday the cause of the accident that killed 67 people was unclear. It was the deadliest air disaster in more than 20 years in Uncle Sam's country.

US Minister of Transportation Sean air transportation said the two modes of air transportation flew in standard flight patterns and there were no disturbances in communication.

"Everything went as usual until an accident occurred," Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin told Reuters.

An investigation into the National Transportation Safety Agency's Investigative Accident said they had just started their work and would have an initial report within 30 days.

The names of all the victims have not been released, but they include a number of promising young skating athletes and people from Kansas, where the flight started.

At the White House, Trump criticized the helicopter pilot and stated that air traffic controllers were to blame.

"We don't know what caused this accident, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas," he said.

Radio communications show air traffic control notified helicopters of the jet approach and ordered it to change course.

However, the shortage of air traffic controllers in the United States in recent years has sparked safety concerns.

In some facilities, controllers work overtime and work six days a week to cover shortages. The Federal Aviation Administration has about 3,000 controllers less than it says is needed.

The New York Times reported that an initial review of the FAA found a controller at the airport handling helicopter and aircraft traffic at the time of the crash, although the work was usually shared.

Yesterday, President Trump without evidence stated that the collision was related to FAA efforts to recruit more diverse workers.

He conveyed this at a White House press conference held to provide Americans with the latest information about the development of the accident.

The cause of the air accident is unclear, and there is no evidence of any attempt to make the federal workforce more diverse has endangered air safety.

However, President Trump used the briefing to increase his rhetoric on the matter, in this case criticizing the FAA for regulating US commercial air travel.

"The FAA's call for diversity includes focusing on recruiting people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities. That's extraordinary," said President Trump, claiming the FAA wanted people "with severe disabilities, the least represented labor segment and they wanted them to enter and become air traffic controllers."

When asked how he could blame the recruitment based on diversity, equality, and inclusion over the crash without knowing who was wrong, President Trump said, "because I have common sense."

"Air traffic controllers must be at the highest level of intelligence," he added.

Separately, a former FAA official told Reuters air traffic controllers were undergoing rigorous testing - mentally and physically - before they were employed.

President Trump's comments also drew criticism from aviation safety experts, supporters of disability rights, and Democratic lawmakers.

"Educate natural aircraft disasters in people with disabilities and programs designed to drive baseless integration," said James Ward, founder and executive director of ADA Watch/Coalition for Disability Rights & Justice.

"It is discriminatory, fanatical, and makes people with disabilities a target, endangering us physically," he added.

Meanwhile, Anthony Brickhouse, an aviation safety expert, said diversity efforts did not make any difference to safety standards.

"Looking for out what caused the accident and making changes to be better is at the heart of safety," he said.

"This is not the time for politics, this is not the time for an agenda," he said.


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