Feb. 2 (UPI) — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Sunday morning said it’s time to update “antiquated” Federal Aviation Administration systems and called for more air traffic controllers at the same time family members were visiting the crash site in the wake of a midair collision between a commercial jetliner and a military helicopter that left 67 people dead.
“We have the safest skies in the whole world. Traveling by air is the safest mode of transportation,” Duffy said in an appearance on Fox News Sunday. “It’s not just air traffic controllers, but we do have technologies on airplanes to keep them separated. So, yeah, no, this is the safest system.”
Duffy added that while the system is extremely safe, it does need to be updated. Media reports said there were not enough air traffic controllers on duty the night of the crash, which could have been a contributing factor.
He said the FAA’s pilot warning system, the “Notice to Air Mission” or NOTAM system, experienced an outage and that it “does need to be upgraded.”
The pilot of the Blackhawk helicopter confirmed shortly before the crash that it had visual contact with the American Airlines commuter plane, but was later said to have confirmed seeing a different plane and not the one he hit.
Duffy said that his philosophy will be different from the prior administration, as he focuses on hiring a new generation of air traffic controllers.
“You can’t focus on diversity, equity and inclusion when you try to hire air traffic controllers, you focus on the best and brightest,” Duffy said on the program. “I mean, again, some people like me like to have this conversation around equity. But if it’s your pilots or if it’s your air traffic controllers, you want the best. You want the brightest protecting yourself and your family. That’s what we’re going to do with the department.”
Hours after the crash, President Donald Trump blamed the Biden administration and DEI hiring practices for decimating the air traffic control worker base, which drew criticism from some.
But Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, doubled down on the president’s claims in a news conference midweek and said race-based biographical questions on application forms, asking questions of future air traffic controllers that are “not relevant to the job description” of future air traffic controllers were “demoralizing.”
“When you are flying on an airplane with your loved ones,” Leavitt said, “do you pray that your plane lands safely and gets you to your destination, or do you pray that the pilot has a certain skin color?”
Duffy said the investigation will focus on the communication between air traffic controllers and both the helicopter and the commercial jet.
“What happened in the tower? What was going on with the staffing? What should have been done and what was done? What was the language that was used by the air traffic controller? Was it appropriate? Did they appropriately direct traffic consistent with procedures at the FAA?” Duffy said.
Dozens of family members of the crash victims gathered at the site on the Potomac River Sunday morning.
“They’re all just hurt and they want answers, and we want to give them answers,” National Transportation Safety Board investigator J. Todd Inman said Saturday during a news briefing. “It’s horrible. No one has to suffer this.”
Crews from the Army Corps of Engineers are scheduled to begin removing wreckage from the scene on Monday.
A private medical air ambulance jet crashed in Philadelphia later in the week, killing seven people, including a child and a person in a vehicle.
Investigations into both crashes are ongoing.
