Aviation expert responds to Trump’s claim DEI hiring to blame for Washington DC crash

An aviation expert told The Independent there is “no evidence” to support President Donald Trump’s claim that diversity, equity, and inclusion policies contributed to the American Airlines plane crash in Washington, DC.

“Brilliant people have to be in those positions,” the president said, before suggesting diversity hiring “could have been” linked to the crash during a press conference on January 30.

In response, Captain Shem Malmquist, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society told The Independent, “I don’t know of any evidence that anybody involved with this accident met any criteria that wouldn’t have been holding them to the highest standards.”