WATCH: White House repeats criticism of DEI efforts as crews investigate D.C. plane collision

The White House on Friday doubled down on its criticism of federal diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and President Donald Trump’s suggestion that such efforts may have contributed to Wednesday night’s collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter, killing 67 people.

Watch the White House press briefing in our player above.

At the White House briefing Friday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated Trump’s accusation a day earlier that there has been a “deterioration of federal hiring standards at the Federal Aviation Administration.”

Asked if anyone in the air traffic control tower on Wednesday evening during the crash “was hired or not fired at some point because of his or her race,” Leavitt refused to answer, saying only that the investigation is ongoing.

WATCH: Breaking down the moments that led up to the worst U.S. aviation disaster since 2001

On Thursday, Trump repeatedly lashed out at former President Joe Biden’s administration and diversity efforts at the Federal Aviation Administration, saying they had led to slipping standards — even as he acknowledged that the cause of the crash was unknown.

Without evidence, Trump blamed air traffic controllers, the helicopter pilots and Democratic policies at federal agencies. He claimed that the FAA was “actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative.”

On Friday, Leavitt defended Trump’s comments.

“One of the things that the American people love most about this president is that he often says what they are thinking, but sometimes lack the courage to save themselves,” she said.

Asked whether the president still believes that U.S. air travel is safe despite his concerns over staffing, Leavitt underscored: “He believes that it is still indeed safe and Americans should feel safe traveling our skies.”

The crash

The regional jet out of Wichita, Kansas, was preparing to land and the UH-60 Black Hawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, carrying three soldiers, was on a training exercise, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Skies were clear.

A few minutes before the Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-700 series twin-engine jet was to land, air traffic controllers asked Flight 5342 if it could use a shorter runway. The pilots agreed. Controllers cleared the jet to land. Flight-tracking sites show the plane adjusted its approach to the new runway.

WATCH: What investigators revealed about the jet and helicopter collision in D.C. that killed 67

Less than 30 seconds before the collision, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the plane in sight. The military pilot responded yes.

The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later, apparently telling the copter to wait for the jet to pass.

There was no reply and the aircraft collided.

The plane’s radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet (732 meters) short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the Potomac, and the plane was found upside-down in three sections in waist-deep water. The helicopter’s wreckage was also found in the river.

NTSB investigators have recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the plane.

The plane was manufactured in 2004 and can carry up to 70 passengers.

The investigation

Federal investigators will try to piece together any communication between the two aircraft and air traffic controllers, other pilot actions and the aircraft altitudes.

One air traffic controller was responsible for coordinating helicopter and plane traffic, according to a report by the Federal Aviation Administration obtained by The Associated Press. The work is normally assigned to two people so the configuration was “not normal,” the report said. But a person familiar with the matter said staffing Wednesday night was routine.

WATCH: Trump signs aviation order to assess ‘damage’ done to air safety by diversity policies

The positions are regularly combined when controllers need to step away from the console for breaks, during a shift change or when air traffic is slow, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal procedures.

At a news conference Thursday, President Donald Trump — without evidence — cast blame on the helicopter pilots and baselessly alleged that diversity initiatives had undermined air safety.

The victims

It was the deadliest U.S. air crash since 2001.

Among the passengers were members of the Skating Club of Boston who were returning from a development camp that followed the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.

Victims included teenage figure skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, the teens’ mothers and two Russian-born coaches, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won a 1994 world championship in pairs skating.

READ MORE: A quick guide to the NTSB as it investigates the D.C. plane collision

The victims also included a group of hunters returning from a guided trip in Kansas, nine students and parents from Fairfax County, Virginia, schools and four steamfitters members of a steamfitters’ local in suburban Maryland and two Chinese nationals.

The plane captain was Jonathan Campos, 34, according to multiple media reports. Chief of staff for Army aviation Jonathan Koziol said the helicopter crew was “very experienced” and familiar with the congested flying around Washington.

DC’s crowded airspace

Located along the Potomac just southwest of Washington, Reagan National requires pilots to navigate hundreds of commercial planes, military aircraft, and restricted areas.

WATCH: Plane that collided with military helicopter in ‘standard flight pattern,’ Duffy says

Federal authorities, aviation experts and pilots have long worried about an increase in close calls. In May, an American Airlines plane canceled its takeoff from Reagan to avoid a plane that was landing on an intersecting runway. It was the second close call in six weeks.

A little more than 24 hours before Wednesday’s collision, a different regional jet descending to land at Reagan executed a go-around maneuver because of a military helicopter in the same area. Flight tracking sites and air-traffic control logs show the Embraer E-175 was cleared to land and advised about a helicopter in its vicinity when its automated collision avoidance system pushed it out of proper alignment for landing. It landed safely minutes later.

Associated Press writer Zeke Miller and Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington and reporters from throughout the U.S. contributed.