Only hours after a deadly midair crash killed 67 people over the US capital, President Donald Trump was claiming that diversity initiatives and the Democrats were partly to blame for the disaster.

Trump blamed diversity hiring policies for a deadly aviation disaster, criticizing Biden-era FAA standards. His remarks sparked debate, clashing with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins while pledging to restore air travel safety and confidence.

Crews work to find remaining victims as investigators recover black boxes - None of the 67 passengers and crew are believed to have survived, as investigators work on ‘black boxes’ found in the ruins

New footage has emerged of the mid-air collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a military helicopter - as fresh details of the crash are revealed. The mayor of Washington is due to give a news briefing shortly - watch live in the stream below.

The people in the helicopter should have seen where they were going,” Trump told reporters Thursday at the White House. “What was the helicopter doing in that track? Very sad. But visually, somebody should have been able to see and taken that helicopter out of play and the should have been at a different height.

The US president says the army Black Hawk involved in Wednesday's collision was above the 200ft altitude limit for helicopters.

"The White House creating a hitlist of 'disloyal' federal employees represents a dangerous escalation of politically motivated retribution that is both illegal and threatens a foundational pillar of American democracy – an independent civil service,” Erwin noted in a news release.

Sixty-four people aboard a commercial airliner died Wednesday night after it collided with a military helicopter midair near Reagan Washington National Airport. Both the American Eagle jet and Army Black Hawk are in the Potomac River.

At a news conference Thursday, President Donald Trump — without evidence — cast blame on the helicopter pilots and baselessly alleged that diversity initiatives had undermined air safety.

An American Airlines regional jet went down in the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after colliding with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, with no survivors expected.

An American Airlines plane with 64 people on board collided with an Army helicopter over Washington, D.C., and crashed into the Potomac River.

Leaders across the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region, as well as federal lawmakers, are reacting to the tragic American Airlines plane crash near DCA.