‘Most accidents occur after some sort of change,’ one safety expert said. ‘So you make a major change, and you are opening yourself up to new scenarios.’
In the aftermath of a series of aviation accidents this year that left travelers on edge, the federal government has unveiled an ambitious plan to upgrade and overhaul U.S. air traffic control systems.
2025’s focus on aviation safety began with a deadly midair collision near Washington in late January, when an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet, killing all 67 people on both aircraft. This was followed by several other aviation incidents that drove headlines for months.
Then, a series of critical equipment failures at Newark Liberty International Airport’s air traffic control facility caused controllers to lose contact with planes in three separate incidents between late April and mid-May.
One day before Newark Liberty Airport’s second communication blackout, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a plan to overhaul the aging U.S. air traffic control infrastructure, surge the hiring of air traffic controllers, and modernize technology across the nation’s busiest airports.
The Epoch Times asked pilots and aviation safety experts about Duffy’s plan and their thoughts on how to make aviation, already the safest form of travel, even safer.
Scott Seeberger, a veteran pilot for a U.S. airline, told The Epoch Times that improving aviation safety should start with a two-prong approach.
“Technology needs to be improved and staffing needs to be increased,” he said.
Increasing the Number of Controllers
Despite the incidents that have occurred since the start of 2025, an analysis of National Transportation Safety Board data has shown that aviation accidents are trending downward this year compared with every other year for the past decade.
Still, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is short roughly 3,000 air traffic controllers, Duffy said in May. The agency is on track to hire at least 2,000 this year through a “supercharged hiring campaign” that includes a 30 percent increase in starting salaries for academy trainees. Controllers are crucial for directing aircraft, reading radar, and ensuring that scores of travelers get from one place to another safely, every hour of the day.
Duffy also told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on May 11 that he would offer a 20 percent up-front bonus to veteran controllers considering early retirement to keep them on the job.
By Jacob Burg
