(NewsNation) — It is “premature” for people to make assumptions about what caused the deadly collision between an American Airlines commercial passenger jet and Black Hawk helicopter, a retired air traffic controller said.

Officials say none of the 67 passengers survived the crash, which sent the aircraft into Washington’s Potomac River on Wednesday night.

President Donald Trump has been critical of the air traffic controller’s involvement. Air traffic control analyst Jim Krieger said in his experience accidents can happen even when people are “doing their normal jobs.”

“We could analyze it, we can tear it apart,” Krieger said. “But I think what we’re going to find, and it might not satisfy everybody, is probably a lot of folks doing what they do all the time to keep things safe.”

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According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there are more than 14,000 air traffic controllers nationwide, and in 2024, the organization hired nearly 2,000.

Krieger said to become an air traffic controller, applicants need to take a “rigid” skills assessment test that only about 6% of people pass.

“To the untrained eye, people look at it, and they think, ‘Wow, there’s a really chaotic situation.’ It is not to them,” Krieger said. “They do a great job.”

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