Last week saw the worst U.S. aviation disaster in nearly a quarter century when an Army helicopter collided in midair with an American Airlines passenger plane near Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport. None survived among the 64 passengers and crew onboard American Eagle flight 5342, nor did the helicopter’s three soldiers.
While investigation into the accident is ongoing, a tragedy such as Wednesday’s was, sadly, a matter of time. Aviation safety has withered, reliant on outdated technology and a workforce weakened by progressive policies.
Near collisions have generated concern in recent years following several high-profile incidents. From 2019-2024, almost 10,000 runway incursions were reported by the Federal Aviation Administration. It’s perhaps impressive that more incidents don’t occur: 45,000 flights take off on any given day, transporting over 10 million passengers annually — that’s an exponential increase from the 1970s, before deregulation made flight affordable for almost everyone.
Technology to manage air traffic has not kept pace with air travel’s democratization. Given astounding advancements like the internet, self-driving cars, and artificial intelligence, travelers could be forgiven for not realizing that air traffic controllers keep us safe with outdated tools that have been used since before World War II: binoculars and radar.
Without modern technology, safety is contingent on humans prone to human error. And capacity to prevent, review, and learn from close calls is limited; post-incident reviews can be difficult to undertake and slow to complete. When video footage is available after the fact, it’s unofficial — typically from citizen plane spotters or passersby. Wednesday’s collision was recorded by a Kennedy Center camera 4 miles from Reagan Airport, capturing only enough low-quality video to relay the already-known: Something went horribly wrong.
Inadequate staffing exacerbates inadequate technology. A preliminary FAA report said that staffing at Reagan’s air traffic control tower was “not normal” at the time of Wednesday’s accident, with one controller assigned to do two jobs. Staffing problems more broadly are normal, however. A persistent shortage of air traffic controllers has contributed to several near-incursions, and FAA facilities are struggling to hire enough qualified personnel.
President Donald Trump suggested that diversity, equity, and inclusion policies may have played a role in the collision. Air traffic controller shortages appear to be a factor here, so he’s not far off. Shortages can be partially attributed to an older workforce — many air traffic controllers are nearing or at retirement age — but affirmative action-style policies have also affected the candidate pool. In 2013, the Obama administration implemented a biographical questionnaire as part of the air traffic controller hiring process in an effort to bring in more minorities. The questionnaire awarded higher points to applicants who indicated unemployment in the past three years, that science was one’s lowest grade in high school, or gave other preferred responses on demographically skewed questions. Meanwhile, thousands of qualified candidates were turned away to mechanically induce a lower proportion of white staff.
To be clear, air travel is still overwhelmingly safe. But challenges from dated technology and bad hiring practices make horrific incidents more likely to occur. The Trump administration can prevent future aviation disasters through straightforward, practical solutions.
The newly confirmed secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, and FAA acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau can expediently execute Trump’s executive orders to rid their agencies of DEI programs and affirmative action language. Doing so will remove barriers for the best candidates to become air traffic controllers. “One of the things we’re advocating for is a total review of how the FAA hires and posts for ATCs,” Nicholas Calio, CEO of the trade association representing major U.S. airlines, told Airlines Confidential Podcast in December. “The system clearly isn’t working.” The FAA should support this industry ask.
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Given the aging workforce, it’s not enough to rely on staffing up alone. As DOGE rids federal agencies of wasteful spending on progressive pet issues, it could instead fund and implement innovative technologies at airports that help air traffic controllers do more with less. Better technology for safety exists: For one, a startup called Spotty Aerospace offers a network of smart cameras that can be inexpensively installed and scaled based on airport size, then used to augment human operations through greater situational awareness and predictive alerts. Popular tracking tools such as FlightAware and FlightRadar24 could also be approved by the FAA for air traffic control use as a supplement to radio communications with pilots. In 2023, air traffic controllers reported having to turn to a free version of FlightRadar24 when radio frequencies cut out at dangerous moments.
The Spotty Aerospace startup was founded in Crystal City, Virginia — where Wednesday’s collision near Reagan National Airport occurred. A hopeful view in the wake of tragedy might consider that a sign: A modern approach to aviation safety is not only possible but very close. Accidents like this need not happen again.
Carolyn D. Gorman is a Paulson policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute.