Less than 24 hours after the Washington DC air disaster that killed 67 people, Donald Trump has blamed the crash on past Democratic leaders and initiatives to boost diversity in aviation.
Offering no investigation findings or specific evidence, the president also suggested both air traffic controllers and the helicopter pilot could be at fault.
Authorities believe nobody survived the collision, between an American Airlines passenger jet and a US Army helicopter, on Wednesday night, local time.
A group of young figure skaters returning from a training camp was among the passengers on the American Airlines plane, which was flying into Washington's DCA airport from Wichita, Kansas.
At the same time, a "fairly experienced" three-person crew aboard the army Black Hawk helicopter was training with night-vision goggles, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
Both aircraft fell into the Potomac River after colliding.
Multiple US media outlets have reported leaked details from an internal safety investigation that found air traffic controller staffing was not normal on the night of the crash.
A single air traffic controller was responsible for coordinating helicopter traffic and arriving and departing planes, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) report said.
"The position configuration was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic," it said, according to an Associated Press report.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator Brice Banning said an investigation was underway, but "we don't have a lot of information now".
"We do not know enough facts to be able to rule in or out human factors, mechanical factors; that is part of the NTSB investigative process."
Earlier, as a recovery operation continued in the icy waters of the river, Mr Trump said: "We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas, and I think we'll probably state those opinions now."
He then criticised diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring initiatives at the FAA, which he suggested had lowered standards among air traffic controllers.
"It doesn't matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are … they have to be talented, naturally talented geniuses. You can't have regular people doing their job," he said.
Referring to the helicopter, Mr Trump said: "The turn it made was not the correct turn, obviously, and it did somewhat the opposite of what it was told."
Asked how he could conclude diversity had something to do with the crash, he said: "Because I have common sense."
[tweet: buttigieg]The president quoted what he said was an FAA document that suggested people with disabilities could qualify to work as air traffic controllers.
"We don't know that necessarily it's even the controllers' fault, but one thing we do know, there was a lot of vision, and people should have been able to see."
Mr Trump later signed an order that blamed the Biden and Obama administrations for "likely illegal decisions" that "minimised merit and competence" in the FAA, an apparent reference to efforts to boost diversity.
The order commissioned a review of hiring decisions and protocol changes made during the Biden administration, and "corrective action".
Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary in the Biden administration, was among the Democrats criticised by Mr Trump.
Mr Buttigieg described Mr Trump's comments as "despicable".
"As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying," he posted on X, and said Mr Trump had suspended key personnel who had been keeping the skies safe.
The Democrats' leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said Mr Trump's attack "turns your stomach".
"It’s one thing for internet pundits to spew up conspiracy theories," he said.
"It’s another for the president of the United States of America to throw out idle speculation even as victims are still being recovered and families are still being notified."
The Reuters news agency, citing aides to Mr Buttigieg, reported the FAA document was released in 2013 and remained online through Mr Trump's first term as president.
Mr Trump campaigned on eliminating DEI initiatives from government, and has signed multiple executive orders to put that pledge into effect.
