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On my first day as Secretary of Transportation, we witnessed an airborne collision in Washington, DC.
The investigation is ongoing, but the tragedy is highlighting the urgent need to modernize the air traffic system and overcoming the broken promises and political inertia of the past.
The unsustainable Federal Aviation Administration software system we inherited is a symptom of the endemic problems that plagued the Biden administration. A bloated bureaucracy that pushed overregulation instead of innovation, and a radical DEI instead of merit. As a result, innovation has stagnated and safety has been sacrificed.
Black Hawk crews may not have heard the message “pass” a DC-bound plane before an air crash: NTSB
Unlike my predecessor, I don’t run away from difficult problems. I’ll fix them.
On January 30, 2025, crew recovered the wreckage of American Airlines Flight 5342 on the Potomac River in Washington, DC. The plane was involved in a fatal collision with the US Black Hawk helicopter in January. (Lee Green from Fox News Digital)
This week I invited SpaceX software engineers to visit the FAA as part of my fact-finding mission to better understand the problems that plague the air traffic system. SpaceX is America’s leading space launcher tracking thousands of satellites, and we would like to thank these patriotic engineers for volunteering for their time and expertise.
This is just the beginning. Over the next few weeks and months, I will arrange similar meetings with major American high-tech companies to identify the most urgent needs in air safety. Simply put, if you can help, my door is open.
These candid conversations with the private sector are extremely important because the old methods have failed. In 2012, President Barack Obama signed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act, providing $63.4 billion in FAA funding over four years, of which $11 billion was directed towards air traffic management.
An astonishing report from the government’s Accountability Office said of the FAA’s 138 systems, 51 are unsustainable and that there are no plans to complete modernization projects for some of these systems for at least 10 years. It will be flashed in December 2024. Furthermore, the FAA has no plans to modernize other systems that are still struggling. Three of these were at least 30 years ago.
This current situation is unacceptable. That’s dangerous. And it needs to be changed immediately.
The Biden administration was sleeping on the switch and handed us the confusion. An August 2023 New York Times investigation revealed patterns of nearby collisions between commercial airlines. It happened several times a week in the near future, at all major US airports, including 503 air traffic control and FAA. It is pre-classified as “important.” This is 65% more than last year.
The FAA is also facing serious disruption due to notifications to the airline (NOTAM) systems. This is essential for safety to share critical flight information between air traffic controllers and pilots. In 2023, a complete failure of the Notam system caused a nationwide ground outage and significant flight delays.
Systematic issues are not limited to software. To avoid serious service disruption, you need to upgrade your aging network at thousands of FAA sites. In the meantime, the FAA has spent millions of dollars a month just to maintain connections with legacy copper wires.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy contacted SpaceX to analyze the upgrades required for the US air traffic control system. File: SpaceX’s Mega Rocket Starship Booster will return to launch pads on Thursday, January 16th, 2025 during a test flight from Starbase in Bocachica, Texas (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
That level of dysfunction may be expected in developing countries, but it cannot bear it in the US. President Donald Trump has already begun implementing his bold vision to rebuild our country, and modernizing our air traffic system will be an important part of that legacy .
Despite the obvious need for reform, Partisans are sure to criticize this SpaceX visit, producing fantastical controversy rather than welcoming progress. That ironic approach exemplifies why the situation got worse every year. Assigning criticism is easy, but the solution requires a lot of work. Americans will understand the facts. Upgrading our country’s air traffic system means reducing safer skies, delays and wasted time when sitting at the airport or getting stuck on the runway.
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And you won’t go off track by misleading media coverage. 0.8% of the FAA’s 45,000 employees were recently fired as part of a massive government-wide restructuring that affected all federal agencies. And we worked to ensure we were in the position of all air traffic controllers and the most safety critics.
Nevertheless, CNN denounced the headline on ClickBait. Only in paragraph 8, CNN acknowledged the truth: “The fire did not include an air traffic controller.”
In fact, we have begun to encourage recruitment of air traffic controllers. And thanks to Trump’s strong leadership, we employ on capabilities instead of ideology. The result is an immediate increase in talent, morale and retention, allowing for the most important outcome: safety.
When I took the oath of office, I pledged my commitment to protecting our country. That means ensuring that our country’s sky is the safest in the world. Since the tragic events of January 30th, I sincerely believe that the best way to meet sad families and honor our loved ones is to urgently overhaul and upgrade our air traffic system.
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You can’t rely on an outdated code that hasn’t changed since the Clinton administration. We must overcome the bureaucratic delays and old excuses that defined our last administration. Thankfully, the Americans have elected President Trump, the world’s biggest problem-solver.
This visit with SpaceX marks the beginning of a new era. In our country, we need an emergency upgrade to top-class. And it’s coming.
Sean Duffy is the 20th U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
