A retired United Parcel Service pilot who flew cargo jets nationwide and globally for nearly 31 years took issue with President Donald Trump’s response to the mid-air collision in Washington, D.C., between an Army helicopter and a jet airliner that claimed 67 lives Wednesday night.
On board the American Airlines jet were 60 passengers and a crew of four. Three soldiers were flying in the Army Blackhawk helicopter. The collision happened near Reagan National Airport. Both aircraft fell into the Potomac River and there were no survivors.
“In the hours after a terrible tragedy, instead of sticking to sympathy for the families and the facts as then known, Donald Trump went off on a political attack tirade about air traffic controllers hired during the Obama administration and the transportation secretary in the Biden administration,” said Bill Kight, an Oldham countian who lives in Goshen.
Added Kight: “And, of course, he had to blow the DEI dog whistle with absolutely no idea of the circumstances of the crew members. But those things play well with some of his supporters and, sadly, he spent way longer talking to them instead of comforting the families involved.”
Kight, 68, retired from UPS in July, 2020. Based at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, he spent most of his career flying Boeing 757 and 767 jets. He also spent more than two decades teaching in the UPS Flight Training Center at the airport.
“Folks, here are some facts,” Kight said. “The air traffic control clearance given to the helicopter crew to pass behind the regional jet was completely normal for the airspace, weather, and traffic situation. At airports all over the United States, it is routine procedure for a tower controller working in visual conditions to direct an aircraft to pass behind another, whether they be in the air or on the ground during taxi operations. Obviously, the helicopter crew failed to see the regional jet and did not comply with the clearance they were given.
“Regarding the air traffic controller working the flights that collided, does Donald Trump know if that controller wasn’t one of the many hired during his first administration? Of course he doesn’t. He just used the tragedy as an opportunity to cast aspersions and doubt.
“That is not what good leaders do.”
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