FAA Firings, Recent Crashes Spark Airline Safety Fears

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Federal Aviation Administration recently began firing hundreds of workers, raising concerns over airline safety. The latest cuts come in the wake of several recent plane crashes, including a January 27 midair collision between an Army helicopter and American Airlines plane in Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. The Trump administration says that nobody with a “critical safety” position has been terminated, but union officials and former workers say some were in safety-related roles. We’ll look at what it all means for the state of aviation safety and the future of flying. Guests: Mark DeSaulnier, United States Congressman, Representing 10th district of California (the East Bay); author of the “Safe Landings Act (2024)” Todd Yeary, former air traffic controller Bill McGee, Senior Fellow for Aviation and Travel, American Economic Liberties Project Lori Aratani, Reporter focusing on transportation issues, including airports, airlines, and the nation's railroad and subway systems, The Washington Post Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:09.5	From KQED. From KQED.
1:41.5	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Nina Kim. Coming up on forum, workforce cuts at the Federal Aviation Administration are sparking concerns and questions about airline safety as they come just weeks after the fatal collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines jet.
1:46.0	The Trump administration says that nobody in a critical safety position has been fired.
1:51.2	But former air traffic controllers and union officials say some positions were safety-related.
1:56.1	And add, the agency has been short-staffed with aging technology for years.
2:03.0	We look at what the recent firings mean for the FAA and what impact they could have on air travel after this news.
2:13.8	Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim.
2:19.1	Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is defending workforce cuts at the Federal Aviation Administration telling Fox News yesterday that the people fired had been there less than a year
2:24.2	or were in probationary roles and that people in, quote, critical safety positions remain.
2:29.8	For people to say that because we cut 352 people out of 56,000, that that's a risk to safety.
	...

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