Safety concerns about flying in the US have risen after a series of plane accidents and collisions in recent months, which were followed shortly by the administration of President Donald Trump eliminating hundreds of jobs at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Aviation safety experts and former FAA employees say flights are safe now, but point out warning signs that would suggest a drop in safety.
The FAA, which is responsible for aviation regulation in the US, has long set the global standard for flight safety standards, says , a consultant who was formerly a federal aviation accident investigator and United Airlines pilot. 鈥淭he job cuts and other actions at the FAA are concerning to me because commercial aviation is a finely veined network 鈥� bluntly laying off people with specialised expertise will be very damaging,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t only takes nipping off a few key nodes of the network to disrupt it.鈥�
A recently cut FAA employee who requested anonymity says they personally plan to reduce the number of flights they take by half because of safety concerns stemming from job eliminations at the FAA. These were part of a reduction in the federal workforce undertaken by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an independent task force. US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said the cuts affected less than 400 probationary, first-year status employees out of the FAA鈥檚 45,000-person workforce and did not include air traffic controllers or professionals that perform critical safety functions.
Advertisement
But the recently cut FAA employee says their team was responsible for updating digital and printed maps showing the latest air routes and allowed speeds for aircraft flying in US airspace. Their team also revised charts to reflect the latest visual landmarks on the ground, which both air traffic controllers and pilots rely on. They estimated that at least 75 people in their office who worked on compiling data for aviation safety were fired.
鈥淚t actually just endangers everyone at every level, honestly, from the president on down,鈥� they told 快猫短视频. 鈥淗e has to fly the same routes that we鈥檙e drawing 鈥� he doesn鈥檛 take special routes.鈥�
Duffy has that the Trump administration will boost the hiring of air traffic controllers by increasing salaries and streamlining the hiring process 鈥� but no promises have been made for other FAA teams that are also short-staffed. For example, there is a shortage of the FAA technicians who maintain the radar, landing and navigation aid systems, says , who spent 17 years at the agency and trained many of those technicians.
鈥淲hen I would worry is when we start seeing things that are closed down because of essentially a lack of maintenance,鈥� says Mann. 鈥淚f I started seeing flights cancelled because of, for example, Chicago O鈥橦are [airport] having one of its runways shut down because they don鈥檛 have anybody to maintain the approach system, then I鈥檓 going to be concerned.鈥�
Public opinion on the safety of flying had already begun to slip following the January mid-air collision between a military helicopter and a regional passenger jet, which killed 67 people near Washington DC. That was before the FAA firings and additional commercial aviation incidents made headlines. Still, the latest suggests that last year, runway safety incidents, like the recent near miss between two passenger jets in Chicago, were among their lowest levels in a decade.
Berman stressed the importance of airlines, aircraft manufacturers and the FAA continuing to track dangerous incidents, share information and make any changes necessary to improve safety. 鈥淣othing will destroy aviation safety quicker than authorities jumping to conclusions and shooting the messengers.鈥�
