Donald Trump mocked after taking credit for 2017 air safety record: 'Unlike Obama, Trump won't let any planes crash'
President says he has been 'very strict on Commercial Aviation'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.It only took until the second day of 2018 for the internet to explode in response to a Donald Trump tweet - with social media users mocking the president for appearing to take credit for a lack of deaths on commercial jet planes last year,
“I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation,” the president tweeted, without going into detail.
“It was just reported there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record”! Mr Trump added.
Bewildered and mocking responses soon poured forth. Many of them took the form of wondering how, exactly, Mr Trump could claim credit for safer air travel.
The President appeared to be referencing a report from the Aviation Safety Network that dubbed 2017 the “safest year ever for commercial aviation”.
But as a number of Twitter users noted, no one has died on a commercial American carrier’s flight since 2009, when a plane crashed near Buffalo, New York.
Others wondered if Mr Trump would take credit for protecting Americans from various hazards.
The Aviation Safety Network report found that 44 people died in 2017, with airlines recording 10 accidents — an “extremely low” figure. A report from aviation consultancy To70 reached a similar conclusion, finding not a single passenger service jet crash.
On the final day of 2017, 10 US citizens were killed when their plane crashed in Costa Rica - but the incident was not included in the Aviation Safety Network publication since the aircraft weighed under 5,700kg - the threshold for the report.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments