Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has ordered an immediate assessment of aviation safety following a recent accident near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The crash on January 29 involved an American Eagle Bombardier CRJ700 and a US Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, resulting in 67 fatalities. In response, Trump issued an executive order citing “problematic and likely illegal decisions during the Obama and Biden Administrations” related to hiring practices at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The President’s accusations included claims that previous administrations focused on diversity over merit-based hiring, though he did not provide evidence for these allegations. This comes despite there being no fatal crashes involving major US airlines since 2009 until this incident.
Trump bypassed the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is responsible for investigating such accidents under international guidelines. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy emphasized the need for thorough investigation: “We need to verify the information, we need to take our time to make sure it is accurate.”
In his order, Trump directed Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation, and Chris Rocheleau, acting FAA Administrator, to review all hiring decisions and safety protocols from the past four years.
Chris Rocheleau was recently appointed as acting Administrator of the FAA. He previously spent over two decades at the agency before moving to the National Business Aviation Association in 2022. His appointment follows Mike Whitaker’s departure from the position on January 20.
The aviation sector has faced challenges including technological deficiencies and a shortage of air traffic controllers leading to delays and near-miss incidents across major air corridors.
