DC plane crash speculation ‘out of control': Maj. Glenn Ignazio
(NewsNation) — Late Wednesday night, a Black Hawk military helicopter and an American Airlines plane collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, leaving 67 people presumed dead Thursday.
Conjecture and blame — in President Donald Trump's case, claiming the crash resulted from diversity, equity and inclusion hires — have emerged in the hours after the tragedy. Online conspiracies suggest that the military chopper intentionally crashed into the passenger plane.
Retired Air Force Special Operations pilot Maj. Glenn Ignazio tells 'NewsNation Now' the crash is 'a bad accident' and that speculation regarding fault has grown 'a little out of control.'
One of the few official updates came from an early Federal Aviation Administration report, which said air traffic staffing was 'not normal' the night of the midair collision.
DC crash: Timeline of Black Hawk-plane collision
After reviewing video of the crash, Ignazio said he believes there is simply human error behind the crash.
The Air Force veteran explained that the American Airlines jet was doing 'exactly what it should do' when making a left-hand turn to land, while the helicopter was simply following a command from air traffic control to 'pass behind' the aircraft.
'I believe that the helicopter pilot believed he was visually clear. I believe he saw the aircraft ATC was calling out. … That's very matter of fact and really straight to the point, and we'll see what the investigation says,' Ignazio explained.
DC crash co-pilot 'at the prime of his life': Dad
Ignazio acknowledged that controllers are needed across the country, and it wouldn't surprise him if the accident had something to do with 'one controller doing two jobs.'
'You know the mindsets of the controller and pilots, [they] never want anything like this to happen … this situation is just a bad accident, bad timing,' he added.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigation will look into interaction with air traffic control in the final moments prior to the crash.
'We have early indicators of what happened here and I will tell you with complete confidence we have the safest airspace in the world,' Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday.
NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the agency's goal is to have a preliminary crash report within 30 days, followed by a final report when the investigation has finished.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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