VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Scrutiny in the skies
Overhead voice at the airport: Welcome to Reagan National Airport.
Anjana Dasam: Hundreds of flights take off daily from Ronald Reagan International Airport. The team behind it all? They check you in, go through TSA, and take off. The aviation workforce is a tight-knit community working hard to provide transportation that keeps passengers safe. But when a high-profile crash happens, it can leave travelers worried.
Braden Lauter: I’m a little bit scared about, like, the airspaces.
Anjana: Last month, American Airlines flight 5342 collided with an army helicopter and plunged into these waters of the Potomac River. The crash sparked tension around air traffic safety, leaving travelers like Paula Ruge, who flew out of DCA, nervous.
Paula Ruge: We’re so close to the Navy Yard and The Wharf, all the other stuff, so it’s dangerous. It was scary – yeah it was.
Anjana: The crash claimed the lives of 67 people onboard; there were no survivors. Ice skating communities, people’s parents and children were lost.
Josh Cohen: Have relations with the ice skaters or on the teams or something like that, and it kind of rose my anxiety about flying.
Anjana: This tragedy can bring the unsettling question of “What if it were me?” Traveler Erin Patel felt that, weighing in.
Erin Patel: As we were getting closer to landing, and the reality set in and it was like “oh my, a tragedy happened here.” And you really start to think about the safety precautions.
Anjana: As the investigation for the crash continues, the Trump administration is taking matters in their own hands, cutting Federal Aviation Administration staff as part of government efficiency efforts. Patel now worries about the future of the FAA, and what these changes mean for air travel safety.
Erin: After a tragedy like that, you would think we would step up security and measures and try to do more for aviation safety. It just seems like we’re going backwards.
Anjana: The firings haven’t impacted air traffic controllers but have drawn media scrutiny for their performance. Vice President of the National Air Traffic Controller Association Mike Christine hopes this won’t further stall funding.
Mike Christine: You know, one thing that we constantly fight against is funding. You know, all our equipment is modernized through funding through the Congress. And anytime there’s either a shutdown or anything, that delays a lot of our projects.
Anjana: And the need for air traffic controllers, well they are always in demand.
Mike: We support maximum hiring; whatever that takes, we’re for it. We want to make sure that we can put as many people through the academy as possible.
Anjana: Christine says they currently have around 10,800 controllers and are 3,600 short. About a third of crew, they believe is necessary. And the more people in the towers, means more eyes on traffic.
Mike: We’re kind of like firefighters in a, in a sense. You’re always there, you’re doing your work and you’re there for when it gets busy and when it gets complex. That’s why we train at a high level to make sure that when those times get there, where it gets busy or impacted by weather, we’re able to recall our training. And, and it’s natural.
Anjana: The recent layoffs have raised concerns about travel, but Christine is optimistic for the future of the air traffic control workforce.
Mike: So, I don’t have a concern now, but you know, you know, you never know.
Anjana: Christine says the public can trust controllers to keep them safe. But with every departure, the memory of the lives lost remains strong. In Washington D.C., Anjana Dasam, NCC News.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (NCC NEWS) – The aviation workforce is a tight-knit community that works hard to keep all of their passengers safe. But when a high profile crash takes place in one of the most congested airspaces, it can leave travelers worried.
In January, American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with an army helicopter and fell into the Potomac River. It claimed the lives of 67 people. The crash has brought tension upon air traffic safety. One traveler, Paula Ruge, who flew out of Reagan International, was nervous to fly.
“We’re so close to the Navy Yard and The Wharf,” Ruge said. “It’s dangerous. It’s scary.”
Some of the people on board were ice skaters coming back from a competition. Another traveler, Josh Cohen, knew the community that was affected.
“My brother had relations with some of the ice skaters that were a part of the crash,” Cohen said. “So it kind of raised my anxiety about flying recently.”
The investigation for the crash is still ongoing. The Trump administration, however, had fired Federal Aviation Administration workers due to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
“After a tragedy like that, you would think we would step up security and measures and try to do more for aviation safety,” said Erin Patel, a traveler from Reagan International Airport. “It just seems like we’re going backwards.”
The firings haven’t impacted air traffic controllers, but they have drawn media scrutiny for their performance. Mike Christine, the eastern regional vice president for the National Air Traffic Controller Association, hopes that this won’t further stall their funding.
“You know, one thing that we constantly fight against is funding,” Christine said. “All of our equipment is modernized through funding through the Congress. And anytime there’s either a shutdown or anything – that delays a lot of our projects.”
Air traffic controllers are always in demand. Christine said they currently have around 10,800 air traffic controllers and are 3,600 controllers short of deemed necessary. With more crew in the towers, there will be more eyes on the traffic.
“We’re kind of like firefighters in a sense,” Christine said. “That’s why we train at a high level to make sure that when those times get there, whether it gets busy or impacted by weather, we’re able to recall our training. And, it’s natural.”
The recent layoffs have raised concerns about air travel, but Christine is optimistic for the future of the workforce.
“I don’t have a concern now, but you never know,” Christine said.
Christine believes the public can trust their work. But with every departure, the memory of the lives lost remains strong.