At the end of the evening of January 29, an American army helicopter collided with a passenger passenger plane from the American airlines descending on the Potomac river en route to Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, there had no survivors.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – which is experiencing a serious vacancy of the main management positions – has been criticized for suspected negligence in the midst of an endowment and funding deficit. The chief of the National Air Traffic Cuelrs Association said that it was too early to speculate on the cause, while the National Transportation Safety Board continued his investigation. Currently, CNN reports that the FAA has open lists for: Associate Administrator of Airports, Associate Administrator for Safety and Security of Dangerous Matters, Chief Lawyer, Deputy Administrator of Communications, Deputy Administrator of Government and Industrial Affairs, and Deputy Administrator For international affairs, international affairs and environment.
The lack of leadership at the top may have been avoidable. A month before, the former FAA chief and appointed by Biden, Mike Whitaker, announced that he would resign from his post early, officially leaving the office on the day of the inauguration of Trump for the end of his mandate . With the open position, many report Elon Musk, who became a key figure in the first weeks of Trump’s presidency and has already put pressure on Whitaker to resign from the FAA, checked and provided comments on the new choice of Trump. Despite a wave of appointments after Trump’s procedure, no selection had been made.
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Musk threatened to continue the FAA in September after the agency inflicted a fine of its space transport company SpaceX more than $ 630,000 for having failed to follow its license requirements during two launches in 2023 – The FAA also had Condemned to a fine of Starlink, the Satellite Telecommunications Company belonging to Musk. Recently appointed head of the new government advisory body, DOGE, responsible for ridding the government of superfluous spending and the “corrupt” bureaucracy, Musk was a vocal critic of the transport agency and pleaded for its “radical reform”.
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Experts say that for years, as part of the Trump and Biden administrations, the FAA was chronically underfalling and that the current state of investments could threaten the safety of passengers. In 2024, President Joe Biden signed a bill on the bipartite re -authorization of the FAA, delimiting continuous investment in air travel infrastructure. The bill included allowances for progress in track technology in order to avoid collisions, as well as the FAA train requirement and to fill 3,000 open air traffic controller positions.
The Trump administration has largely avoided the questions surrounding the former reality of managers and the financing of the FAA, with the newly appointed transport secretary Sean Duffy – sworn in a few hours before the devastating impact – ignoring press requests on a Empty of leadership in the transport department. The administration later announced that Chris Rocheleau, former chief of the National Business Aviation Association, would serve Thursday as an acting commissioner of the FAA during a press conference.
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During this same press conference, Trump allegedly allegedly alleged that the fatal incident could have been the result of a “hiring of diversity” as part of the Biden administration. “We have had a much higher standard than anyone. Said to the press.” Admittedly, for an air traffic controller, we want the most brilliant, the smartest, the most sharp. We want someone who is psychologically superior. “
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By taking at X, former secretary Pete Buttigieg, who was also the target of blame by Trump, wrote: “President Trump now supervises the military and the FAA. Our Sure.
