Ainsley Earhardt Shocks Aviation Expert on 'Fox & Friends' When She Asks What Washington, D.C., Plane Crash Victims' Final Moments Were Like

A former Navy Seal and aviation expert was taken aback on Fox & Friends when Ainsley Earhardt asked him what he thinks the last moments were like for the victims of the Washington, D.C., midair crash.

In a devastating incident that occurred on Wednesday, January 29, an American Airlines passenger jet collided with a Blackhawk helicopter over the Potomac River.

The aftermath of the collision left a grave impact, with the expected death toll reaching 67 individuals.

Fox & Friends brought on former Navy Seal rescuer Jake Zwieg for his expert insight on the ongoing recovery efforts.

Earhardt asked Zwieg: "It’s a tough question to ask, but I always think about this when we report on someone who has died ... What were those last moments like?"

"Because you don’t want anyone to be scared, but you also want people to say their prayers before and have a little bit of time. But if I were in that situation, you just want it to be quick, you know?" she continued. "So do you think when the plane crashes, when something like this happens, there’s no pain, right? The people don’t experience that."

The former Navy Seal replied, "Golly! Can you give me a harder question now?"

"I know, I know,” Earnhardt said, clarifying, "I just want to make sure they didn’t fall through the air and land on the water."

"Yeah. I mean, I can’t really go out and say that it was a pretty kinetic crash," Zweig explained. "We’ve all seen the big explosion. Obviously, the helicopter’s rotor blades went through the bottom of the aircraft, aircraft turned and crashed into the water."

"I imagine at most you probably had eight seconds of absolute terrifying fear," he continued. "I mean, we obviously, we can’t go talk to any of the victims. But, I mean, probably the most horrific thing that you could live through."

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social soon after the tragedy and said the situation "should have been prevented" and described it as "NOT GOOD."

He wrote: "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's newly sworn-in transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said on X: "I am on site at the FAA HQ and closely monitoring the situation."