Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who sits on the House’s Transportation Committee, said he would caution people and conservative Republicans on finger-pointing in the aftermath of the plane crash Wednesday night near Washington, D.C.
Burchett joined CNN to discuss the American Airlines plane that collided with a military helicopter, noting that as a lawmaker he often flies in and out of Reagan Washington National Airport. The inbound jet was on its final approach to the airport.
“I would caution folks, especially … my conservative friends on my side of the aisle, let’s hold off on all the finger-pointing until we really know what’s going to happen on this,” Burchett said.
“What has happened? You know, we’ve lost over 70 souls,” he continued.
There were 60 passengers and four crew members aboard the flight from Wichita, Kan., to Washington.
Officials announced early Thursday that there were no survivors from both aircraft and they would be switching their operations from a rescue mission to a recovery mission. As of Thursday morning, 27 people had been recovered from the Potomac River.
An investigation into what went wrong is underway, but new Department of Transportation chief Sean Duffy said he believes it was preventable.
Burchett said Thursday that he wants it examined whether the crash was an isolated incident or if there is “a pattern.”
“If it is, I think it needs to be addressed,” he said. “We’re going to have hearings, I’m sure, on the Transportation Committee.”
Burchett later said there needs to be an investigation into if communication went through to the aircraft, if the pilots received word about the approaching threat.
He also noted that there needed to be a bipartisan movement to support the investigation and address the situation.
“Too many times in politics,” Burchett said, are elected officials looking to make a news headline. Right now, he said he believes they need to “go a little slower” to assess the crash.
“The public is demanding some change, because if we don’t, we’re going to be revisiting this time and time again,” Burchett said.
