The deadly plane crash into Washington, D.C.’s Potomac River on Wednesday night has raised questions about aviation safety, even as federal agencies say the United States has some of the strictest airline regulations in the world.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s website boasts that the U.S. has the world’s toughest qualifications for airline pilots. While most foreign countries are required to have only between 200 and 250 hours of experience, U.S. co-pilots are required to possess a minimum of 1,500 hours of flight experience under legislation passed by Congress in 2010.
Prior to 2010, most U.S. pilots were only required to have 250 hours of training. However, the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2010 significantly tightened standards in response to a deadly plane crash the previous year. In 2009, the Colgan air crash near Buffalo Niagara International Airport Clarence Center in New York killed all 49 people on board.
There are exceptions to the FAA’s 1,500-hour standard. Those with a bachelor’s degree in aviation can reduce their time to 1,000 hours, and people with an associate’s degree in aviation can reduce flight time to 1,250 hours. Military pilots are required to have only 750 hours of flight experience to obtain their commercial license.
In addition to changing standards for hours of flight experience, the 2010 law also mandated more break times to provide pilots sufficient time to rest between flights. The time between flights was increased from eight to 10 hours, while the amount of continuous off-duty hours was increased from 24 to 30 hours a week.
Besides the FAA, there are additional government agencies that dictate more standards for airlines to follow, including the National Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Security Administration. U.S. private jets and airlines operate under different guidelines than commercial flights but are still required to follow strict requirements set by the FAA, including Parts 91 and 135 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Wednesday’s shocking crash in Washington’s Potomac River was the first fatal commercial airline crash in the U.S. in 16 years. U.S. statistics compare quite favorably to global data from the Aviation Safety Network, which shows worldwide that 318 people died on commercial flights in 2024.
Still, there remain concerns that air safety in the U.S. isn’t as secure as it should be.
A 2023 New York Times analysis highlighted a multitude of alarmingly close encounters between aircraft where collusions were only narrowly averted. In July 2023 alone, FAA records confirmed there were 46 close calls involving commercial U.S. airlines. In one 12-month period, FAA records showed roughly 300 accounts of near collisions involving commercial airlines. The driving factor behind the near collisions was “chronically” understaffed air traffic control facilities, the report concluded.
“Only three of the 313 air traffic facilities nationwide had enough controllers to meet targets set by the F.A.A.,” the analysis found. “Close calls involving commercial airlines have been happening, on average, multiple times a week.”
Critical pilot shortages nationwide continue to pose a challenge to aviation safety as well. Facing longer hours to make up for shortages, some pilots have experienced fatigue, which could affect job performance.
President Donald Trump has raised concerns that diversity, equity, and inclusion policies may have resulted in the hiring of people, including air traffic controllers and pilots, who weren’t qualified to serve in the positions.
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During a press conference Thursday responding to the Potomac plane crash, Trump blasted FAA diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives seeking to hire people with hearing and vision disabilities, as well as psychiatric disorders, for air traffic controller positions. There is no evidence DEI had anything to do with Wednesday’s crash.
“‘The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website,’’ Trump said as he read a news headline about the agency’s DEI policies. “Can you imagine?”