DOT secretary says he spoke with Elon Musk on U.S. airspace reforms

DOT secretary says he spoke with Elon Musk on U.S. airspace reforms


An American Airlines plane takes off as a salvage barge with a crane is positioned near the crash site along the Potomac River after a passenger jet collided with a helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. 

Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he spoke with Trump administration advisor and CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk about reforming the country’s airspace and raised concerns about the military’s use of helicopters in Washington, D.C.’s crowded airspace after a deadly collision last week.

“I had a conversation with Elon Musk yesterday, pretty remarkable guy. He thinks differently than I think probably a lot of us do, but he has access to the best technological people, the best engineers in the world,” Duffy said Wednesday at a roadway transportation event in Washington. “We’re going to remake our airspace, and we’re going to do it quickly.”

Duffy’s comments come a week after an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jetliner that was moments away from landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. All 64 people on the American flight and the three military crew on the Black Hawk, which was on a training mission, were killed. It was the deadliest airline accident in the United States since 2001.

Trump has tasked Musk with running the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has received access to such data as the Treasury Department’s payment systems. Musk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

SpaceX, along with other space companies, shares airspace with commercial airplanes. Last month, a Starship rocket suffered an inflight failure that resulted in a field of debris raining down near Caribbean islands and causing dozens of commercial flights to divert or delay to avoid the area.

U.S. airline executives have for years called for additional funding for the modernization of U.S. air traffic control systems and additional hiring of air traffic controllers to stem a yearslong shortage.

Duffy didn’t elaborate on the potential changes to U.S. airspace management.

Duffy said that one air traffic controller was handling both airplane and helicopter traffic at the time of the crash and that he will “look at the policies and the procedures inside the tower.”

“We’re going to pull that authority back to make sure that we have the right policies in place inside our towers to make sure when you fly, you’re safe,” he said.

Duffy said officials need to look at the safety of conducting military training missions at night.

“And if we have generals who are flying in helicopters for convenience through this airspace, that’s not acceptable,” he said. “Get in a damn Suburban and drive. You don’t need to take a helicopter.”

The U.S. Army didn’t immediately comment. The Pentagon declined to comment.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation into last week’s crash, is still probing the cause of the deadly collision.

— CNBC’s Michael Sheetz contributed to this report.

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO



Source

Getting to Europe is cheaper this summer — but everything costs more when you’re there
Travel

Getting to Europe is cheaper this summer — but everything costs more when you’re there

Alexander Spatari | Moment | Getty Images A last-minute summer flight to London or Rome costs less than it did a year ago, but the good news ends at the customs checkpoint. U.S. travelers to the U.K. and Europe are finding their dollars don’t go as far as they did just months ago. Exchange rates […]

Read More
Some international LGBTQ+ travelers pull back on U.S. trips: ‘Why would I go there?’
Travel

Some international LGBTQ+ travelers pull back on U.S. trips: ‘Why would I go there?’

Participants march in the Reclaim Pride Coalition’s seventh annual Queer Liberation March in New York, June 29, 2025. Erik McGregor | Lightrocket | Getty Images Canadian citizen Robert Sharp was planning to visit Provincetown, Massachusetts — one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly places in America — for his friend’s milestone birthday in July. But against a […]

Read More
Airlines face investors after strong— but cheaper — July 4 holiday
Travel

Airlines face investors after strong— but cheaper — July 4 holiday

People move through Newark Liberty International Airport following a news conference by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at the airport, where he announced the reopening of a major runway at the airport, nearly two weeks ahead of schedule on June 2, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. Spencer Platt | Getty Images Millions of travelers are expected […]

Read More