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Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Technology

Did Trump’s firing aviation officials raise the risk of the DC plane crash?

Emergency personnel work near the site of the crash, with the US Capitol in the background, after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed in the Potomac River, United States, on January 29, 2025 [File: Nathan Howard/Reuters]

Even as emergency responders were working to recover the remains of passengers and crew members who died in the January 29 midair collision near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, social media users, especially critics of President Donald Trump, pointed to some of Trump’s policies as contributors to the crash.

“Just last week, Trump FIRED the heads of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Coast Guard, and disbanded the Aviation Security Advisory Committee,” one X post read. The Associated Press reported on January 21 that Trump fired those heads and removed all members of the committee.

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