Transport secretary Sean Duffy says that many of the systems of the Federal Aviation Administration remain “outdated” and need updates in the midst of a “plum” in recruitment for air traffic controllers.
Duffy made the statement during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream. Trump administration’s official confirmed that the air of America remains the safest in the world, but he also said that large changes can be made to the FAAs systems.
“We have the safest skies in the whole world. Traveling per air is the safest way of transport,” said Duffy. “It is not only air traffic controllers, but we have technologies in aircraft to keep them separate. So, yes, no, this is the safest system.”
Duffy further said that the American system “must be upgraded.” He also noticed a malfunction of the pilot -warning system of the FAA, the “notification to air mission” or notam system, on Saturday evening, and called it “outdated”.
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Secretary of the US Department of Transport Sean Duffy focuses on the media, after American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk -Helikopter while he approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and collapsed in the Potomac Rivier. (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)
The FAA imposes a mandatory retirement age of 55 for air traffic controllers, which causes a large amount of turnover. Duffy noted that the Academy of the FAA was bottled during COVID-19, which caused small classes and postponed the process because trainees could not get personal experience in control towers.
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He said he focuses on training a new generation of recruits.
“You cannot concentrate on diversity, fairness and inclusion When you try to hire air traffic controllers, you concentrate on the best and smartest,” Duffy told Bream. “I mean, again, some people like me want this conversation about fairness. But if it is your pilots or if it is your air traffic controllers, you want the best. You want to protect yourself and your family. That is what we ‘ I’m going to do it with the department “
First Responders work the scene after what witnesses saying was a plane crash in Philadelphia on Friday January 31, 2025. (Matt Rourke/AP)
Duffy’s statements come after two aircraft tramps had hit the US, including the collision of an army Blackhawk -Helikopter With an American Airlines Jet in Washington, DC, last week. A private plane also fell from the air in Pennsylvania this weekend.
Research is underway for both crashes. Duffy said that he is especially interested in the communication that the control tower had on Reagan National Airport with both the Jet and the helicopter in last week’s crash.
Search and rescue efforts are seen around a wreckage in the Potomac River of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, early Thursday morning, January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photo/Carolyn throws)
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“What happened in the tower? What was the matter with the staff? What should have been done and what had been done? What was the language used by the air traffic controller? Was it appropriate? Do they offer the traffic in accordance with the FAA procedures in the right way? “Duffy asked.
