There is no evidence that diversity efforts played a role in the crash, and his statements disregarded his own administration’s hiring policies.

Jonathan Koziol, a retired Army chief warrant officer with more than 30 years of flight experience, told reporters that the flight was a nighttime qualification flight with an instructor pilot evaluating an experienced pilot on the flight routes that their unit routinely flies day and night around the Potomac River.

Trump on Thursday criticized hiring practices of his predecessor that promoted diversity, equity and inclusion.

President Donald Trump is questioning the actions of the army helicopter pilot and air traffic controller in Wednesday’s deadly midair collision in Washington

He told a news conference that diversity hiring efforts at the Federal Aviation Administration may have led to safety issues.

Jennifer L. Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the probe will focus on several factors: “the human, the machine and the environment.”