The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it can't speculate about the cause of a fatal midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and U.S. military helicopter on Wednesday night near Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C.
"Our mission is to understand not just what happened but why it happened," NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy, who was appointed by President Joe Biden to serve a five-year term in 2021, said during a press briefing.
J. Todd Inman, a member of the NTSB board, said the agency's goal is to issue a preliminary report within 30 days, and a final report will be issued "once we've completed all of our fact-finding and investigation."
All 67 on board both aircrafts were killed, and 28 bodies so far have been recovered from the Potomac River where the aircrafts crashed.
He said the NTSB has received information from a number of sources, including "a very large package of information" from the Federal Aviation Administration that is being reviewed and analyzed.
"There's a lot more information that usually comes in than what you might find online, and people might speculate about," he said. "And that is part of that overall process where we take the time to get the information correct and to make sure all the parties are engaged and involved and can fact-check that information.
"Right now, we can't speculate on anything that may have been reported in the media until we get the opportunity to validate and understand how it impacts the investigation."
Homendy was asked whether President Donald Trump's remarks about causes of the crash, including that Biden and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg lowered standards for air traffic controllers he set during his first administration, would hamper their investigation.
"With all due respect, I think the press also likes to state what [the] probable cause is before we get to the probable cause," she said. "So, what I'm going to say is you need to give us time. It's not that we don't have information. We do have information. We have data. We have substantial amounts of information.
"We need to verify information. We need to take our time to make sure it is accurate, that's best for you, that's important for the families. It's important for legislators who are seeking answers to try to figure out what they're going to do about this. And so, it will take time."
Inman said not enough facts are known whether human factors or mechanical failure played a role in the crash.
"That is part of the NTSB investigative process and where all of these groups will come together," he said. "It's one of the reasons why the NTSB is known as the gold standard. We will take the time that's necessary, but I'd also like to reiterate, if we find something that is a significant issue that warrants immediate action, we will not hesitate to make those recommendations and make them public."