Did Trump’s firing aviation officials raise the risk of the DC plane crash?

Although the Transportation Safety Administration, the United States Coast Guard and the Aviation Security Advisory Committee all play roles in aviation safety, “the actions by President Trump would not have led to such an immediate impact”, said Jim Cardoso, a former US Air Force colonel and pilot who is now senior director of the University of South Florida’s Global and National Security Institute.

“All the processes to control and deconflict air traffic in the DC area have been well established for a long time,” Cardoso said. “The personnel involved in the accident – air crew from the two aircraft and the (air traffic controllers) in place at the time of the accident – would similarly not have been affected by” the recent policy changes in Trump’s executive orders since January 20.

It’s also unwise to speculate on causes so soon after a crash, said John Cox, a retired pilot who runs a St Petersburg, Florida-based aviation security consulting firm.

“At this point, we don’t know enough,” Cox said on January 30. Anyone who argues that a specific factor caused the crash not even 24 hours after it happens is making an argument “without foundation”, he said.

Cox said the international standard for determining what caused a crash “is not to speculate. You stay with the facts. The idea is that it’s more important to get the right answer than a politically motivated answer.”

The investigation into the collision will likely take months. For now, here’s what we know about what actions Trump has taken related to aviation and what effect, if any, they could have had on this crash.