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Washington DC plane tragedy: Ex-USA soccer star bashed for triggering ‘suspicious’ conspiracy theory
A former soccer star came under fire for expanding conspiracy theories on Instagram about the deadly mid-air collision over Washington, DC.
Former USA soccer star Taylor Twellman faced the wrath of social media users after inciting “suspicious” claims about the fatal collision between an American Airlines plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. The horrifying air tragedy happened near Reagan Washington Nation Airport just before 9 pm. Killing 67 people, the midair collision is now being labelled the country’s deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century, per AP News.
Washington DC plane crash conspiracy theories arise
Given the deadly scale of the accident, conspiracy theories’ emergence was inevitable. In a now-deleted post on X/Twitter, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman speculated if the Washington DC air tragedy was an act of terrorism. “How does an incredibly maneuverable military helicopter fly into a regional aircraft by accident with all of the sensors and warning devices designed to prevent an accident like this one? It sounds more like terrorism than an accident. Perhaps an expert on Blackhawks can weigh in here,” he wrote online.
Former soccer player deletes social media post after backlash
Similarly, ex-soccer player Taylor Twellman attempted to dissect the crash scene on IG. Uploading a clip of the tragedy, he captioned the post: “You can't tell me this isn't suspicious. My heart aches for those on that plane. Literally everyone's worst nightmare.” He, too, ultimately was left with no choice but to delete the post as other SNS users came down hard on him for fuelling conspiracy theories at a fragile time.
Someone commented: “Conspiracy theories don't f---ing help Taylor. I live in DC like 10min from Reagan, they share air space with Joint Base Bolling. So it's common to see Airport planes and mil aircraft flying overhead, the problem came down to horrible communication, either with (ATC) or the Helo.”
He swiftly noticed the reaction. Saluting the response and typing “Deleted,” Twellman followed through.
Other viral claims
Many others are also bent on proving that “military helicopters don’t fly into planes,” insinuating that the plane crash was intentional. Comparing the heart-rending visual to a ‘1970s-style assassination,’ users alleged that the helicopter “chased” the plane approaching for landing. Yet another Instagram user argued, “This looks deliberate to me. Watch this clip, especially the slow motion part, the plane is coming in to land and the helicopter comes in from the left and flies straight into it.”
The cause is under investigation.
