Donald Trump sparks outrage as he says it's ‘amazing’ DC plane crash could happen, compares it to golfing

WASHINGTON, DC: Leave it to Donald Trump to use a bizarre golf analogy to explain a national tragedy.

The president raised eyebrows — and tempers — when he likened last week’s horrific midair collision between an Army helicopter and a passenger jet to a golf driving range, calling the accident “amazing” in the process.

The devastating crash, which happened near Washington, DC, claimed the lives of 67 people. But Trump saw it as a teachable moment - one that somehow involved golf balls.

Trump’s shocking remarks about DC crash

Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast at the US Capitol, Trump said the catastrophe was proof that America’s air traffic control system needed an upgrade.

"It's amazing that it happened. We should have had the proper control. We should have had better equipment," he declared, before slamming the outdated technology. “And I think that’s going to be used for good. I think what is going to happen is we’re all going to sit down and do a great computerized system for our control towers. Brand new—not pieced together, obsolete.”

"They were understaffed for whatever reason. I guess the helicopter was high. And we'll find out exactly what happened," he said.

Then came the golf reference. Being an avid golfer himself, Trump tried to illustrate his point by saying: "Did you ever see, you go to a driving range in golf and you're hitting balls, hundreds of balls, thousands of hours? I never see a ball hit another ball. Balls going up all over the place. You never see 'em hit. It was amazing that that could happen."

But Trump wasn’t just blaming random chance. He claimed that the real problem wasn’t the pilots or even human error, but the government’s failure to install a brand-new air traffic control system. According to him, the US wasted money trying to modernize old technology instead of replacing it entirely.

A tragedy near Washington, DC

The horrific accident happened on January 29 when a Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, near Ronald Reagan National Airport. The Black Hawk was on a training exercise when disaster struck.

Trump initially wasted no time placing the blame on diversity hiring programs, but he eventually shifted the narrative to America’s outdated air traffic control system.

Federal officials had been sounding the alarm for years about staffing shortages and system failures. The US air traffic control system has been struggling with underfunding, long shifts, mandatory retirements, and uncompetitive pay - leading to major concerns over safety.

Trump, however, insisted that a better system would have immediately sounded alarms when the Black Hawk and the passenger jet reached the same altitude.

But according to an FAA report, the system actually did detect the problem when the two aircraft were still more than a mile (1.6 km) apart. The air traffic controller gave the proper instructions, directing the helicopter to pass behind the plane. The helicopter even confirmed it had the plane in sight. Yet, tragedy struck anyway.

Investigators are now digging into the exact altitude of both aircraft at the time of the crash. The plane’s flight recorder showed its altitude as 325 feet (99 meters), plus or minus 25 feet (7.6 meters). Meanwhile, the airport’s control system recorded the helicopter at 300 feet (91 meters)—possibly higher than its 200-foot (61-meter) flight ceiling.

But the full truth may not be clear until investigators retrieve the still-submerged wreckage of the Black Hawk - which isn’t expected to happen until later this week, PBS News reported.

Trump slammed over golf comment

It didn’t take long for Trump’s bizarre golf range analogy to spark outrage on social media.

"Is this the formal crash report?" one person quipped on X.

"People were killed and you used a golf joke? What kind of sick f--k makes a golf joke?" another fumed.

"This is the most insensitive remark especially this early on," one commenter pointed out.

"Trump’s 77 IQ is kicking with all cylinders," someone mocked.

"Oh snap, for a second I thought he was going to say something educated. Whew, that was close," another snarked.

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