Mike Whitaker, unanimously confirmed as the FAA administrator in October 2023, stepped down early from his five-year term on Jan. 20 when Trump took office and for 10 days the FAA declined to say who was running the agency on an acting basis. Trump has not yet named a permanent candidate to replace Whitaker.

The air traffic controller working at the time of the deadly plane-helicopter crash in Washington was doing the work of two people, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions," Trump said.

Oklahoma lawmaker shocked by Washington, D.C., tragedy, could lead to FAA improvements

It appears that the first major air disaster in the U.S. since 2009 has occurred while the Federal Aviation Administration does not have a permanent leader.

U.S. authorities said on Thursday it was not yet clear why a regional jet crashed into a U.S. Army helicopter at a Washington airport, killing 67 people in the deadliest U.S. air disaster in more than 20 years.

A former FAA official and Embry-Riddle professor is urging a thorough investigation into what caused the American Airlines crash in Washington, D.C.

More than 60 people were killed when an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Authorities believe there are no survivors in the accident, which happened as a regional passenger jet was attempting to land Wednesday night at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

An Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University professor of air-traffic management discusses an airline-helicopter collision investigation in Washington.