Why didn't the Black Hawk turn, go up or down? Trump is asking the right question

US President Donald Trump has a question, and anyone who has seen the video of the Army helicopter flying into the American Airlines passenger jet would have thought about it. Why didn't the helicopter go up or down, or turn?

The question came just hours after a US Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed midair into a US passenger aircraft, which was carrying 64 people. All 64 people onboard the passenger jet were killed in the crash, and a massive operation is underway to search for any survivors.

Several people echoed Trump as they said that it didn't look like an accident to them.

The helicopter could have no way missed the passenger plane, whose lights were "blazing" in the night sky.

Video footage of the crash from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Centre shows the passenger plane approaching the airport to land while the helicopter flies straight into it, and resulting in an explosion.

While motorists have the option of swerving left and right, aerial vehicles have a third dimension -- they can go up or down.

Trump is questioning why the Black Hawk Army helicopter didn't turn, or go up or down to avoid the plane that was clearly visible. The American President said the tragedy "should have been prevented".

A US Army official confirmed that one of its helicopters was involved in the crash, and it was on a training flight.

"The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, The lights on the plane were blazing. Why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn? Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane," Trump posted on Truth Social.

"This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!," he added.

The American President also questioned the directions given by the air traffic controller (ATC).

Questions are being asked on social media platforms even as the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said it had started a probe and the Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was gathering more information.

"This does not look like an accident to me. The helicopter appeared to fly horizontally directly into the plane. There does not appear to be any vertical movement by the helicopter," said a user on X.

"Why does it look like the Blackhawk flew straight into the jet," asked another user.

Dozens of people cried conspiracy and some went as far as to suggest that the Army Black Hawk tried to crash into other planes too.

"The Black Hawk Helicopter was clearly trying to crash into multiple planes before its final impact! What are your thoughts on why," asked one person. Whether the questions and speculations on social media hold credibility can only be determined after a thorough investigation. However, aviation experts could not deny that the accident was unusual.

A collision like this in these days of highly advanced aviation, and so close to the ground, is something like a one in a million of an accident that can happen.

"A collision like this, in an era of highly advanced aviation and so close to the ground, is a one-in-a-million accident," Squadron leader Debolina Das (retired) told India Today TV.

Das, however, added the responsibility also lied with the air traffic controllers who she said let the two aircraft come this close midair that led to the fatal crash.

"Reagan Airport has a very complex environment, with military and commercial operations going side-by-side. However, this kind of complacency is not acceptable," Wing Commander Vikram Mahajan (retired) told India Today TV.