'Scare them into quitting': Senator says Trump’s letter to aviation workers may have led to crash

30 January

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump's administration offered millions of federal workers seven months of pay in advance if they quit their jobs. Days later, a mid-air collision between a regional jet and a military helicopter killed dozens outside the Washington D.C. National Airport. One senator thinks the two events may be related.

Politico reported Thursday evening that the deadly Wednesday night crash above the Potomac River that killed 60 American Airlines passengers and four crew members along with three U.S. Army pilots in a Black Hawk helicopter has lawmakers and aviation officials demanding answers. During a Thursday press conference, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board promised to fully investigate the crash to determine what caused the fatal error, though they cautioned it could take a year or more before their investigation is complete.

The New York Times reported earlier Thursday that the air traffic controller who was on duty at the time of the crash was performing duties normally done by two controllers, and that staffing levels were "not normal" on Wednesday night. And Politico reported that airports across the country have had a critical shortage of air traffic controllers for years, mostly due to a lack of funding appropriated by Congress for hiring and training new airport control tower workers. According to the Times, many air traffic controllers work six days a week for as much as 10 hours per day.

But Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) — an Iraq War veteran who used to pilot a Black Hawk helicopter — suggested that morale among federal employees being lower than usual due to the Trump administration's recent buyout offer letter could have also been a contributing factor. She also blasted Trump for his assertion that diversity, equity and inclusion-based hiring practices under former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden were to blame.

"Obviously, you’re relying on air traffic control," Duckworth said. She noted that both Federal Aviation Administration officials and air traffic controllers were among those who received emails from the Office of Personnel Management asking them to consider leaving their jobs.

"[Letters were sent to] some air traffic controllers that are responsible for airspace in the Northeast region,” she continued, “Basically trying to scare them into quitting at a time when we have a shortage of air traffic controllers. So I don’t think the Trump administration is in a strong position right now to start blaming others.”

“This should’ve never happened, and we wanna understand what happened,” said Senate Commerce Committee member Ted Budd (R-N.C.)

Click here to read Politico's report in full.

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