Trump blames Biden for DC collision

[Anchor]

Several questions are raised regarding the cause of this accident, including why the helicopter increased altitude towards the passenger plane.

Analysts suggest that the surrounding air routes are complicated and difficult to navigate, which increased the risk of an accident.

President Trump claimed that this accident is the fault of the Biden administration.

Reporter Park Seok-ho has the details.

[Report]

This is the air traffic control radar footage from the time of the accident.

As the passenger plane and military helicopter got close, a warning indicator was activated.

[Communication from the control tower just before the accident: "PAT 25, do you see the CRJ in sight? PAT 25, pass behind the CRJ."]

However, the helicopter was already at a higher altitude than permitted and collided with the passenger plane.

[Pete Hegseth/US Secretary of Defense: "Tragically last night, a mistake was made. There was some sort of an elevation issue that we have immediately begun investigating."]

The presence of many no-fly zones around the White House and Congress limited the airport's takeoff and landing routes to a narrow corridor along the Potomac River, which also increased the risk of an accident.

A video taken a week before the accident captured helicopters flying a river's width apart.

Due to the airport's congestion, two passenger planes almost collided on the runway last year.

[Communication from the control tower last April: "Southwest 2937, stop! JetBlue 1554, stop!"]

It is also questionable that one air traffic controller had to manage both the helicopter and the passenger plane simultaneously at the time of the accident.

President Trump criticized that the Biden administration prioritized diversity over capability when hiring aviation safety personnel.

[Donald Trump/US President: "The FAA's diversity push includes focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities."]

In response, it was pointed out that 93% of the US air traffic control workforce has no disabilities, with 84% of controllers being male and 75% being white.

KBS News, Park Seok-ho.