Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

New Recovery Effort Under Way In Deadly In-Flight Collision; Controversial Trump Picks Face Questions On Past Comments. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 30, 2025 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


REPORTER: Mr. President, you said that incompetence may have played a role. Are you aware of any performance issues or disciplinary actions that were taken against anyone who was working the tower last night, or flying the plane?

[16:00:04]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, no, and I hope that's not the case in this case. But certainly over the years, that's been the case, and it's the case with respect to close calls. And it's the case with respect to circling for hours on end. You know, planes circle a lot and they circle because the people bringing them down, these people that have to be very, very smart and its not based on anything other than the brain.

We need the smartest people. We need both psychologically smart and just brilliant. Period. And we have them in our -- in our control towers. We're going to have -- we are going to have the most competent people in the country in our control towers, not people that are there for any other reason.

(CROSSTALK)

REPORTER: Mr. President, you said that you envision sending the 80- something-thousand IRS agents hired under Biden to the border. What role do you see them playing?

TRUMP: Well, we'll see. I mean, I may do that or I may use different people, but we're going to send more. We're going to give the Border Patrol some help. Although now, if you look, they've taken in the lowest number since my administration. The numbers are very low. And that level, we don't need so much help.

People know not to come, because if they come, they're not going to make it in and they're going to be shipped out.

REPORTER: Egypt's president and the king of Jordan have both said that they won't take in displaced people from Gaza, like you suggested. Is there anything you can do to make them do that? I mean, tariffs are against those countries, for example?

TRUMP: They will do it. They will do it.

REPORTER: What makes you say that? TRUMP: They're going to do it, okay? We do a lot for them and they're

going to do it.

REPORTER: Mr. President, you've offered over 2 million federal workers the option to resign immediately.

TRUMP: Right.

REPORTER: There are 50,000 FAA employees.

Does this tragedy give you reason to reconsider that option of resignations because of concerns about staffing issues?

TRUMP: No, no, if people --

REPORTER: And airline safety?

TRUMP: If people aren't coming to work, if they're not going to come into the office and report as per the date, that you know what it is, everybody knows what the date is. It's been very well-documented then they're going to be terminated.

REPORTER: You're not going to be -- you're not concerned, though, that if many people take that offer, there could be shortages that could lead to safety issues.

TRUMP: They'll be replaced with very competent people. We have a lot of competent people in this country.

REPORTER: Have you spoken to any of the families of the victims of the plane crash?

TRUMP: I don't want to comment on that.

REPORTER: Do you have a plan to go visit the site?

TRUMP: I have -- I have a plan to visit, not the site, because what -- you tell me, what's the site? The water?

REPORTER: Or to meet with the first responders down there?

TRUMP: I don't have a plan to do that, but I will be meeting with some people that were very badly hurt with their family member, obviously, but I'll be meeting with some of the families. Yeah.

REPORTER: On birthright citizenship, sir, do you believe that there are five votes in the Supreme Court that would uphold your position?

TRUMP: On what?

REPORTER: Five votes on the Supreme Court?

TRUMP: What position?

REPORTER: Birthright citizenship? TRUMP: I think so, yeah. Look. Birthright citizenship was -- if you

look back when this was passed and made, that was meant for the children of slaves, this was not meant for the whole world to come in and pile into the United States of America, everybody coming in and totally unqualified people with perhaps unqualified children. This wasn't meant for that.

This was meant when it was originally done for the children of slaves. And that was a very good and noble thing to do. And I'm in favor of that 100 percent. But it wasn't meant for the entire world to occupy the United States.

REPORTER: So, you don't see it requiring a constitutional amendment. That would be --

TRUMP: I just think that well end up winning that court.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper, standing outside Ronald Reagan national airport in Virginia just outside D.C.

Behind me, the sight of an American tragedy because behind me is the Potomac River, where search and rescue has turned to search and recovery because, tragically, no one survived last night's in-flight collision between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk

helicopter. You've been listening to President Trump making comments at the White House about the border, largely.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is covering the White House for us today.

Jeff, what do you what do you make of what President Trump has had to say?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, what President Trump just did. First of all, he actually signed an order appointing an acting director of the FAA, Chris Rocheleau, who was a longtime FAA worker, before leaving to the private sector. But this just underscores the fact that this is one of the many vacant positions in the FAA as this new government administration is taking hold. So that was the first thing he did.

The second thing he did was sign an executive action of some kind. Basically just restating the comments we heard from him earlier today saying he wants competence in the FAA, not DEI. Of course, there is no evidence that that any type of hiring initiatives had anything to do with this.

The president also said he would be meeting with some of the family members of the victims in this crash, offering no specifics of that. But he said he would be doing that.

[16:05:01]

And again, Jake, also asked about the workforce of the FAA. This, of course, has been a big issue here during his first couple of weeks in office, reshaping the workforce. He said he was not worried about there being a shortage. He said if people would like to leave, they can. They will find new people.

But that is indeed a central question likely of this investigation, the staffing at some air traffic controlling towers here. But the president not repeating his blame as much as he did earlier today. He said he'd be meeting with the families at some point -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Jeff Zeleny at the White House, thanks so much. Now to more on why we're here today. Last night's in-flight collision between an American airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. It's a moment that's difficult to watch.

Video from last night captured a flash of orange marking the sky and marking the moment that 67 people would not return home or speak to their loved ones ever again. As of now, 28 bodies have been found. In total, three U.S. soldiers were aboard the helicopter and the aircraft flying from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C., was carrying 64 people total.

Moments ago, the National Transportation Safety Board gave an update on the families of those on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD INMAN, MEMBER, NTSB: Later today, we will be briefing the families. We normally try to do this before a media event, but in this case, they're still arriving. There are a lot of people hurting today. We will help find out what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The father of 28 year old Samuel Lilly, one of the American airlines pilots killed last night, wrote in a Facebook post, quote, it hurts so bad, I can't even cry myself to sleep.

Over the next two hours, we're going to have much more on these devastating losses of human life and the latest from the investigation, so-called black boxes. That's the cockpit voice and flight data recorders have not yet been recovered from the icy Potomac River behind me. Those will be key to figuring out how this incident became the deadliest crash in U.S. aviation in more than 23 years.

So many unanswered questions today, and yet, even though there are so many unanswered questions this morning, President Trump claimed without any evidence that DEI diversity policies were the reason for the crash.

Here's how it went when he was pressed on this multiple times, including by CNN's Kaitlan Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: What evidence have you seen to support these claims?

TRUMP: It just could have been.

COLLINS: Don't you think you're getting ahead of the investigation right now?

TRUMP: No, I don't think so at all. I think that's not a very smart question.

REPORTER: I'm trying to figure out how you can come to the conclusion right now that diversity had something to do with this crash.

TRUMP: Because they have common sense. Okay. And unfortunately, a lot of people don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That, of course, is not evidence of anything.

Pete Muntean is CNN's aviation correspondent. He's been following this tragedy from the very beginning.

And, Pete, last night on air, you were clearly taken aback that an accident like this could happen in the United States in 2025 after all the advances made in preventing such collisions. You have some brand new information about the air traffic control staffing situation here.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The staffing situation was relatively normal, according to sources, and there's an internal memo floating around from the Federal Aviation Administration, which says at the time of this incident, there was one controller in the tower working two positions. They say that is not totally abnormal. It's one other big revelation that we are just hearing now that the NTSB has located the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, that will be key to piecing together this information, one that is happening as flights are taking off and landing here now at Reagan National Airport, which is so surreal.

This investigation only now just starting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MUNTEAN (voice-over): The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating what caused the deadliest aviation disaster in the United States in more than 23 years.

JENNIFER HOMENDY, NTSB CHAIRWOMAN: We are all here because this is an all hands on deck event, and were here to assure the American people that we are going to leave no stone unturned.

MUNTEAN: American Eagle Flight 5342, a Canadair regional jet operated by PSA airlines, call sign "Blue Streak", directed to land at Reagan national airports runway 33. One of the most complicated approaches in the country, and running very close to a special corridor used for helicopters flying close to the ground.

PILOT: Yeah. We can do 33 For Blue Streak 5342.

MUNTEAN: The flight's captain had nearly six years of experience with the airline, and the first officer nearly two years, according to American airlines CEO. TOWER: Runway 33, cleared to land.

MUNTEAN: Four minutes later, the control tower tells a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter call sign Priority Air Transport, or PAT 25, on a training mission to look out for the passenger plane and go behind it.

TOWER: PAT 25, do you have the CRJ in sight?

TOWER: PAT 25, pass behind the CRJ.

HELICOPTER PILOT: PAT 25 has aircraft in sight, request visual separation.

[16:10:04]

MUNTEAN: Despite the helicopter pilot saying he saw the jet, about 13 seconds later, disaster, as they slam into each other.

DISPATCHER: Crash, crash, crash. This is alert three.

MUNTEAN: The plane shattered into three pieces, plunging into the dark Potomac River, where both aircraft landed upside down.

GROUND CONTROLLER: It was probably out in the middle of the river. I just saw a fireball, and then it was just gone. So I haven't seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit.

MUNTEAN: More than 300 first responders descended on the scene for a desperate search in near freezing cold water. But not one of the 64 people on the plane and the three people on the helicopter survived.

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: What happened yesterday shouldn't have happened. It should not have happened. And when Americans take off in airplanes, they should expect to land at their destination. That didn't happen yesterday. That's unacceptable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MUNTEAN (on camera): The conversation happening in aviation now, how this special helicopter corridor for government and military helicopters crisscrossing the D.C. region so close to the national airport, is able to exist so close to the final approach for flights landing here and now. Many are wondering if it should still stay that way, something investigators will no doubt have to look at.

TAPPER: So the investigation of tragedies like this usually takes months, if not years. Is there any evidence that hiring practices that President Trump keeps referring to die, played any role in anything that happened?

MUNTEAN: It is a totally baseless and frankly unhinged claim that the president made today that die could have had any factor in this case. We don't know much of the biographical information about those in the control tower who essentially had to watch helplessly and call 911 for the fire engines and the emergency response crews to come out here. DEI is really not even part of the conversation. This is something that the right has really latched on to for months leading up to this, and in fact, only an hour and 40 minutes before this crash took place.

Sean Duffy's first act, his first press release, said that he was going to roll back DEI initiatives in aviation. It seems that this administration is not as focused on aviation safety, and is much more focused on DEI, what they call a woke practice.

TAPPER: So, and we should note that there is diversity language. Or there was a few hours ago when I looked on the FAA website and that language has been there since 2013. That language was there through all four years of the Trump administration, the first Trump administration.

MUNTEAN: Primarily changed under the Obama administration.

TAPPER: Yeah, and then President Trump was referring to an article that he read in the New York post that referred to that. He said it was from just before he took office. The article, actually, in "The New York Post" is from January of last year. A year ago, not this year.

So there's a lot of misinformation. Thanks so much, Pete. Appreciate it.

I want to bring in -- let's -- let's talk about the actual issue here and not these red herrings. Let's bring in somebody with a unique resume in this situation. Billy Nolan, he was acting FAA administrator under President Biden. He also has served in the Army as a helicopter pilot. He has also flown commercial planes for American Airlines.

So he really has a unique perspective.

Billy, thank you for joining us. I'm sorry it's under such horrific conditions.

First, I'm going to ask you to put your FAA hat on. I want to ask you, when you hear the air traffic control communications around the time of the collision, is there anything that you hear that concerns you or sounds out of the ordinary beyond obviously the accident itself?

BILLY NOLAN, FORMER ACTING FAA ADMINISTRATOR: No. What I would say they're not, Jake. So thank you. But let me just start by saying and offering up my sincere sympathies. As you note, I was a long time. I spent a career at American airlines, so my heart goes out to the not only to the families of the victims. And of course, as I'm mindful of the words from the CEO Robert Isom that everything is being done at this moment in time, I try my best to avoid any kind of speculation.

We will get through this recovery phase. We will, you know, they'll get the aircraft, both of these raised from the Potomac, and then, you know, the intensity of the investigation under the auspices of the National Transportation Safety Board, will kick off in earnest. And it's one of the world's foremost investigative, investigative bodies. So I fully expect that well get to the bottom of this and probably much quicker than I know. Early was talk that could take years, but I suspect well get there much sooner than that.

TAPPER: So you have -- you have flown piloted commercial planes for American airlines. You've also piloted military helicopters. How common is it for a commercial flight to encounter helicopter traffic in an airport like Reagan National here in D.C.?

NOLAN: It's quite common. And over the arc of my airline career, I certainly flew a lot of flights into and out of DCA, as well as other airports around the country, and a lot of those airports have helicopter traffic.

As you know, there's some -- there's some uniqueness about, you know, Reagan airport. It is -- it is one -- it's a busy airport, as all of the major airports around the country. So what you're seeing, it's a good opportunity for us as we go through the investigation. It's a good opportunity to say, look, is there -- is there anything that we should do different? Are there innovative ideas that that we should think about? And those are the kinds of things that the NTSB is very skilled at getting to the bottom of.

But they're not doing this alone, right. You've got the airlines there, you've got the FAA there. We have -- you've got DOD there, you've got the OEM, the manufacturer there. So, all labor is at the table. So this is a -- this is a very much a collaborative effort with the NTSB on point to figure out, number one, what happened, why did it happen and how do we keep it from happening again in the future?

TAPPER: All right, Billy Nolan, thank you so much for your unique perspective.

Let's take a closer look now at the complicated logistics of flying into Ronald Reagan National Airport. The D.C. area is full of airspace restrictions. The Potomac River straddles the airport. The air traffic is very congested.

Reagan National averaged 390 flights a day last November, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Its main runway is the busiest runway in the United States, and that's not even considering nearby helicopter traffic.

Let's go to CNN's Tom Foreman at the magic wall for us.

And, Tom, what do we know about the flight paths that ended in disaster last night? How could this have happened?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Were joined by Jeff Huddleston, who is a commercial airline pilot for a major carrier, former navy aviator familiar with flying commercial aircraft and helicopters.

One of the things, Jeff, that we were talking about is the simple fact that this really is a convergence point -- point. There is a route called route one, basically which helicopters fly all the time down the river here, right through here, maybe 100 helicopters a day here. And in fact, our investigative team found that in the past three years, twice there have been very similar incidents where it did not result in a collision but it came close. So, Jeff, tell me about this. When you're looking at this approach

area here, this really is a convergence point.

JEFF HUDDLESTON, FORMER NAVY HELICOPTER PILOT: Well, let me start by saying that there's an old saying that, you know, the smartest airplane pilot is the one sitting on the ground criticizing the guys in the air.

So I don't want to be perceived as criticizing these crews. But the first thing, probably to identify a little bit is there's -- there's two rules to aviation. There's visual and there's instrument.

The helicopter is on visual rules, which means they're responsible for their self separation from any other kind of aircraft. This is a designated corridor specifically for helicopters, comes along the eastern shore of the Potomac at 200 feet and below. So as long as that they're in that space, that's where they belong to be. The jet aircraft, on the other hand, is on an instrument approach.

FOREMAN: And it was originally going to come in this way and land on this runway. And then it switched to this plan that swung it out here.

HUDDLESTON: Well, I don't know that for sure, but that is typically the 90 percent, 95 percent of the traffic lands on runway one. When were going south to north, what happens is if they're going to land runway 33 and that would be a decision by the tower and the controller points out where runway 33 is to the -- to the jet aircraft. They have the opportunity to accept it.

FOREMAN: And they accept it in this case, from what we understand. And that puts them more in this area.

I want to point out something here that you and I were talking about earlier. It's an idea that people refer to as the upside down wedding cake for this type of airport. What it means is that as you go up higher here, and this may be from this side to this side, it could be as much as 60 miles wide, but basically as the aircraft are coming in, they're funneling down toward the landing point. There's a lot of talk today about these two craft being at the same altitude.

Well, even though the helicopters may be flying down here under 200 feet, at some point, they're going to wind up here. That's the issue, isn't it?

HUDDLESTON: Yes, it is. And obviously ultimately the aircraft has to pass through this 200 foot altitude in order for it to land.

FOREMAN: And at that point, the helicopter and the aircraft have to just see each other. Hard to do.

HUDDLESTON: Exactly true.

FOREMAN: Okay. Jeff Huddleston, thank you very much. We appreciate your insight.

HUDDLESTON: Thank you. FOREMAN: Jake?

TAPPER: Thanks so much, Tom Foreman, Jeff Huddleston, appreciate it.

Crews are in the Potomac River behind me right now trying to recover the remains from this crash. A retired Black Hawk helicopter pilot who's now a member of the U.S. Senate is going to join us.

Coming up, what questions do Senator Tammy Duckworth have about this collision? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:24:05]

TAPPER: And we're back at Ronald Reagan National Airport outside D.C. with our breaking news. The in-air collision of a passenger plane, American Airlines and a Black Hawk helicopter, U.S. Army just outside D.C. right behind me. Recovery efforts are happening right now in the Potomac River over my shoulder as 67 families slowly get confirmation that their loved ones did indeed perish last night.

With us now to discuss, Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who is an Army veteran and a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot who served in Iraq.

And, Senator, as someone who used to fly Black Hawk helicopters, what are your thoughts on what we know so far about this horrific crash?

SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): Well, I did have a briefing earlier today from the FAA and the NTSB investigators, and I asked some very specific questions about the equipment on board the Black Hawk, where they were on their route of flight, transitioning from route one to route four, I believe that helicopter route, and then also where the position of the regional jet was.

[16:25:07]

Was it established, for example, on final approach? And, you know, we -- I asked them to provide me with some more information, which they will, including the transcripts of the air traffic control instructions back to and forth to the pilots. I wanted to make sure that the pilots had acknowledged air traffic control, telling them to watch out for the regional jet, which they said they had.

But as someone who flew black hawks in these types of mission profiles, where you're flying underneath a commercial airliners, I flew out of Midway airport for over a dozen years, where I did routinely fly beneath a commercial airliners, landing there at midway airport. This is not an abnormal flight profile to be in, although it is a very congested airspace in the nation.

TAPPER: What are the biggest challenges in flying a Black Hawk in particular, especially in an area like this where there is so much congestion? Are there are there blind spots? Most of our viewers have no idea what its like to even be on a helicopter, much less fly one. DUCKWORTH: Well, I -- you know what? The blind spots are not going to

be in the Black Hawk. The blind spots are going to be in the commercial airliner coming in for a landing, because they just have those cockpit windows and the side windows. But when they're established on that -- on that landing, they're looking straight down the runway. And when they get close to landing, they're actually -- the system that prevents collisions actually pops off. It turns off just as you're about to land.

The Black Hawk actually has very good visibility with plexiglass bubble above the pilots' heads on the sides of the doors of the aircraft, and also underneath the pilots feet, and you have an additional crew member, the crew chief, sitting in the back, who's also helping you to look.

So this particular Black Hawk was under visual flight rules. They had to be providing the separation with the landing aircraft. They were responsible for it. They acknowledged the instructions from air traffic control that they would look out for the aircraft.

And at this point, I need to know from the FAA and from the NTSB investigators who departed from their route because that that Black Hawk needed to be hugging that eastern riverbank of the Potomac and the regional jet, of course, was on short final for, I believe, runway 33. And so at some point, they converge on each other and lost that lateral separation. And we need to see who drifted into whose flight path.

TAPPER: What is your reaction to President Trump blaming this accident on diversity, equity and inclusion hiring practices?

DUCKWORTH: Utter disgust because it is beneath the office of the president of the United States. Basically, what he's saying by blaming DEI on this is to say that the aircrew of that Black Hawk did not earn their place in that cockpit.

And let me tell you, our army aviators, our army air crews, including the crew chiefs, are some of the best trained pilots and aircrew members in the world. They would not be in that cockpit unless they had earned their way there.

Shame on Donald Trump. Shame on him to claim to himself to be the commander in chief. And the first thing he does is to consult -- to console their family members, their loved ones, but to actually blame the pilots, blame the aircrews.

We're going to find out what happened, and we're going to make sure that if there's anything that we can do to keep this from happening again, we're going to do that. But in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy where we lost three heroes of the United States of America, three people who wear the uniform of this great nation for him to immediately question their right to be in that cockpit as if they did not earn their place is shameful, especially for someone who's supposed to be leading these troops.

TAPPER: Senator Tammy Duckworth, thank you so much. As authorities ask how this crash happened, we also cannot forget

about the victims. We're slowly learning the names of the 67 lives lost on the Black Hawk and on the American Airlines flight. Their stories and his incredibly tough law -- this incredibly tough loss in the professional figure skating community, we'll have more on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:33:25]

TAPPER: Good afternoon. I'm Jake Tapper at Ronald Reagan National Airport, where we continue our breaking news coverage in our national lead of the tragic plane crash over the Potomac River last night, the American Airlines flight was just moments away from landing here at Reagan Airport last night. We're beginning to learn more information about some of the 67 victims of the crash.

Among the crew was Captain Jonathan Campos, according to a fellow pilot who knew him. The other pilot on board, we're told, was 28-year- old Samuel Lilley, whose father wrote on Facebook, quote, I know I'll see him again, but my heart is breaking, unquote.

Also on board, flight attendant Ian Epstein, according to a Facebook post from his family.

The United Association Union announced that four steamfitter union members from Maryland are among those killed, passengers on the flight. We've also heard quite a bit from the figure skating community. The Skate Club of Boston announced six members of the community are among those killed after attending the U.S. championship and developmental camp in Wichita, Kansas, where this flight originated.

Coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, skaters Spencer Lane and Jenna Han, and their mothers, Christine Lane Jin Han.

Here's a tearful Nancy Kerrigan speaking earlier today about her club and the skating community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY KERRIGAN, 1994 OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALIST IN FIGURE SKATING: I feel for the athletes, the skaters, and their families, but anyone that was on that plane, not just the skaters because it's just such a tragic event and we've been through tragedies before, as Americans, as people, and we are strong.

[16:35:05]

And I guess it's how we respond to it. And so my response is to be with people I care about and I love and need -- I needed support. So, so that's why I'm here. And, I don't know, a little bit at a time. I think it's a shock.

I was watching, I wasn't woken up in the morning and saw it. I was watching like all night, so I probably looked tired. But, uh, and then when you find out, you know, you know, some of the people on the plane, it's -- it's even a bigger blow.

We just wish them well. And like the families, the courage and the strength to make the next steps. I don't know how you look at people go through tragedies and you wonder, how do they do it? I don't know, but we're so strong. Somehow we have a reservoir to dig from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Joining us now to discuss this horrible moment for America and for the skating community, 1988 Olympic figure skating champion Brian Boitano, who was just in Wichita himself for the U.S. figure skating championship. Several victims in the collision took part in that development camp after the championship.

And, Brian, I am so sorry were speaking under these conditions. You knew Evgenia, you knew Vadim and their son, Maxim. Maxim had just placed fourth at the championships. You presented the award to him. It's just absolutely devastating.

Tell us about them.

BRIAN BOITANO, OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATING GOLD MEDALIST: Yeah, I mean devastating. I mean, not only were they the mom and dad, Yevgenia and Vadim, really talented skaters, but they were great people. They were people producing champions of our future in Boston. And I can't say enough about them as people.

And like I said, I've been -- I've been thinking just all day about Maxim. I gave him his award at the national figure skating championships on Sunday, and he has just been consuming my mind, just, you know, just sending all my thoughts out to him. And I sent a message through the CEO of Boston Skating Club, Doug Zeghibe, to tell him, please, if there's anything that I can do, I'm here.

TAPPER: You're familiar with these development camps, which help grow the future stars of figure skating. How big of a loss is this for the sport?

BOITANO: This -- this is a huge loss for the sport. And also it's a huge loss. You know, this is the second airplane crash in, you know, six decades that we have lost skaters. In 1961 the airplane went down with our entire world team on it. So -- and that directly affected the Skating Club of Boston.

So, we've re-grown figure skating from the grassroots level since 1961. And anytime that there's a loss of these talented people like, you know, Spencer and Jenna, and the teams of coaches like Yevgenia and Vadim who are creating these future champions and doing such a great job. It's -- it's a loss for our sport.

And as you mentioned before, our sport is very tight knit. So it really affects all of us.

TAPPER: What are you hearing from your fellow members of the figure skating community? It must be just phone calls and text chains of just grief.

BOITANO: Yeah, it's from -- you know, texting with all of my friends. And in fact, I saw the clip of Nancy Kerrigan. I'm going to call her later today.

But, you know, just -- I was bombarded this morning with just texts of disbelief because we are all so close. And to, like you said, to lose all these people. And it's a tragedy, you know, not just for the skating community, but for -- for everybody who's lost someone, you know, not knowing, you know, all of the names and all, you know, all the people that were lost. We are mourning their loss. And, you know, and we still have -- have more people to find out about.

TAPPER: Brian Boitano, Olympic figure skating champion. Thank you so much for talking to us today. And I'm so sorry. It's under these conditions.

CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean is standing by with new information about this crash. We're also following an eventful day on Capitol Hill, just a few miles from here, where we saw more important hearings today for some of the most controversial nominees for President Trump's cabinet, including his pick to be the director of the FBI, Kash Patel. We want to get to some of that next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:44:10]

TAPPER: We're going to continue to bring you the latest on the deadly plane crash in the Potomac River behind me. And what we know about what caused the tragedy.

Right now, we're going to take a quick break from our coverage of this horrific plane crash to briefly turn to our politics, lead major developments on Capitol Hill today, of course, where three of President Trump's most controversial cabinet picks face tough questions in their confirmation hearings. Kash Patel to be director of the FBI, former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the department of Health and Human Services.

Here to bring us all the critical moments, CNN's Paula Reid and Manu Raju.

Paula, Kash Patel nominated to be director of the FBI. He faced some questions over past controversial statements praising QAnon, conspiracy theories, which is just utter nonsense. Having an enemies list, which he published in the back of his book.

What did he have to say today?

[16:45:01]

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, for roughly six hours, we heard Patel try to convince his skeptics that he is a career public servant who would not use this position to retaliate against his perceived enemies. Now, Patel has compiled a list of roughly 660 officials who he had characterized as corrupt actors or part of the deep state. He says that that has been mischaracterized as an enemies list, and said that the FBI, he would only pursue investigations with a, quote, factual basis.

He also said that he has not promised to investigate anyone specifically, despite the fact that President Trump has vowed retribution against those who have investigated him. And we've already seen officials at the Justice Department who worked on Trump cases removed from their posts.

Now, Patel was also asked about Trumps decision to pardon nearly everyone involved. In January 6th, including those who engaged in acts of violence against police. Let's take a listen to what Patel said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR NOMINEE: I have always rejected any violence against law enforcement, and I have, including in that group, specifically addressed any violence against law enforcement on January 6th. And I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: So notable he's putting some daylight between himself and the president's controversial decision. He also told lawmakers he would not lie for the president of the United States. Now, clearly, Patel is one of the most controversial picks. And if he is confirmed, he could serve in this job for up to ten years -- Jake.

TAPPER: Manu, are any of these picks in jeopardy of not being confirmed in a 53-47 Republican controlled Senate?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I would say two of them are. They're teetering, both Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Health and Human Services Department and Tulsi Gabbard to be the next director of national intelligence. And the reason why is because of some concern among some of the key Republicans on the committees considering those nominations.

For RFK, Jr., Bill Cassidy, he's the chairman of the one of the committees that held a hearing today. And he raised concerns about his views on vaccines. He tried to get RFK Jr. to knock down the false notion that childhood autism is linked to vaccine use. RFK Jr. hedged in his response to that. And at the end of that hearing, Cassidy said he was troubled by that remark and he was torn about ultimately how he will come down.

And if he votes no, the vote, the committee that actually votes on this nomination, the Senate Finance Committee. Cassidy also sits on that committee. He could essentially scuttle this nomination if he votes no when that committee takes up RFK, Jr.'s nomination, watch for that. And then for Tulsi Gabbard, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a swing

vote on that panel. She had an exchange with Tulsi Gabbard. It was not a particularly contentious one, but she still is uncertain about what she would do. I asked Susan Collins how she'll ultimately come down. She said she's still reviewing all of her answers, and she said the jury is still out. She said, yes, I need to be very careful about this. She's taking her time and making her decision.

But if she votes no to Jake, similar situation, that could be enough to stall this nomination altogether. So watch for those two votes. Could be as soon as next week, Jake.

TAPPER: Manu, both Tulsi Gabbard and Robert Kennedy Jr. were Democrats until recently and opposed to Trump until relatively recently. Do you think if Obama or Biden had nominated these two individuals, Gabbard and Kennedy, for those jobs that the Republicans who are going to vote for them -- would vote for them, then?

RAJU: I think it's a great question, Jake said. Members tend to view things differently based on which party is in power, so it wouldn't surprise me.

TAPPER: Paula Reid, Manu Raju, thanks to both of you.

Coming up, we're going to come back live to the scene of the breaking news. We're learning more new information about a potential staffing issue connected perhaps with last nights deadly plane crash. We're going to have a live report next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:53:20]

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. We're at Ronald Reagan national airport just outside Washington, D.C., right near the site of last night's tragic crash involving an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane flying from Wichita, Kansas. Sixty-seven people were on board both aircraft. All of them have perished.

The D.C. fire chief said today that he's confident crews will recover all the victims, despite the challenging diving conditions and the icy cold Potomac River.

Let's bring back CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean.

And, Pete, I want to talk to you about your most recent reporting on the possible staffing shortages at the air traffic control situation last night. What are you learning?

MUNTEAN: Well, staffing has been an issue for air traffic control facilities nationwide for years and really compounded by the pandemic. And there were long time backlogs at the FAA air traffic controller academy in Oklahoma City. But what were finding out now from an air traffic control source of mine is that the control tower here last night was staffed by one person working two positions, meaning talking to airplanes, taking off and landing here at the at the Reagan National Airport, but also helicopters transitioning the airspace through this questionable now route that helicopters use, the corridor that they use to go up and down the Potomac River.

The source told me it's not all that uncommon for controllers to work two positions. One person working two positions. But, of course, this will be something that NTSB investigators will look into.

We heard from NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy today, and she said that its all about humans and the machine and the environment. And there's one big environmental factor here. Controllers have really been pushed to the limit over and over again. And we have seen that come up in the close calls of commercial airliners on the runway of major airports in the past.

[16:55:06]

Think to the Austin incident back in early 2023. This is something that keeps coming up and controllers are working mandatory six day weeks on ten hour shifts. They are really stretched to the limit. And of course, the NTSB, in its human factors review, will see whether or not the controllers were adequately rested and whether or not that was a factor in this very big puzzle that they are now putting together.

TAPPER: Horrible story. Pete Muntean, excellent reporting. Thank you so much.

Still ahead, we have some new breaking details about the investigation into the deadly in-flight collision last night. Plus, President Trump today pointing blame on Democrats and die for the crash. No evidence of that. But he said it anyway.

We'll have much more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)