Trump Reacts To Deadly DC Plane Crash

WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump spoke to the press corps Thursday and offered his condolences, and the nation's, to the families of the victims.

“We are in mourning, this has shaken a lot of people," the president said. "We can only begin to imagine the agony you are feeling. Our prayers are with you now and in the days to come. … We are one family and today we are heartbroken, searching for answers.”

The president said crash investigators will determine how the two aircraft collided when the pilots were heard on radio being warned of their proximity.

"The people in the helicopter should have seen where they were going,” Trump said.

Related: DC Plane Crash Updates: New Details On Crash Timeline, Victims

The president then seemed to blame the Biden Administration's DEI hiring policy and air traffic controllers for the crash. There has been no discussion of what caused the crash so far from federal investigators, including the National Transportation Safety Board, which has taken over the inquiry.

Trump criticized diversity hiring efforts at the FAA, though when pressed about why, he acknowledged that there is no evidence yet that it could be blamed for the collision.

“It just could have been,” he said. "I have common sense."

He circled back to add, “We don’t even know necessarily that it was the controller’s fault. This was a tragedy that should not have happened.”

The three soldiers aboard the helicopter were doing an annual night proficiency training flight, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, adding they were a “fairly experienced crew.”

More on the crash can be found here.

This story includes reporting from the Associated Press.