On social media, President Trump called the crash “a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented.” Just one week prior to Wednesday’s deadly crash, Trump fired the head of the Transportation Security Administration and all members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee.
The crash comes just days after the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, Mike Whitaker, stepped down barely one year into his tenure. FAA administrators usually serve five-year terms. Trump has not named a replacement. Whitaker announced his planned departure in December, after Elon Musk repeatedly attacked him on social media, tweeting, “He needs to resign.”