Division of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy introduced Thursday his plan to “supercharge” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s air visitors controllers after quite a few deadly airplane crashes during the last two months.
The FAA will probably be “streamlining” its eight-step hiring course of right into a five-step course of, with hopes it’s going to speed up the time to rent for “critical positions,” in keeping with Duffy, who shared the announcement in a put up on X.
The protocol change will shave greater than 4 months off the outdated course of, he mentioned.
As well as, the company will probably be “raising starting salaries by nearly 30%” for these in coaching as an incentive to use.
President Donald Trump listens as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks within the James Brady Press Briefing Room on the White Home. (Alex Brandon/AP Photograph)
“We want the best and brightest to get expedited entry into the academy,” Duffy wrote within the put up. “This administration is committed to solving the air traffic control shortage that has existed for too long.”
The FAA imposes a compulsory retirement age of 55 for air visitors controllers, contributing to a excessive turnover fee, Fox Information Digital beforehand reported.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy introduced plans to “supercharge” the FAA with a streamlined hiring course of for air visitors controllers. (Getty Photographs)
Duffy famous the FAA’s coaching academy additionally slowed throughout COVID-19, with small class sizes delaying the method.
Whereas greater than 50,000 individuals work on the FAA, President Donald Trump introduced latest cuts that may trim 300 non-critical staff from the pressure.
Duffy’s new coverage comes after quite a few aviation disasters within the U.S. over the previous few months, together with the midair collision of an Military Black Hawk helicopter with a business passenger airplane in Washington, D.C., which claimed the lives of all 67 individuals aboard the 2 plane.
Simply days after the D.C. crash, which was the nation’s deadliest aviation mishap in additional than 20 years, a medevac airplane plummeted right into a Philadelphia avenue, killing all six on board and one individual on the bottom.
Emergency response models search the crash website of an American Airways airplane on the Potomac River after crashing with an Military Black Hawk helicopter Jan. 29. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Photographs)
Extra disasters adopted, with an Alaska crash killing 10 and an Arizona crash killing one.
In neighboring Canada, 21 individuals had been injured when a Delta airplane erupted in flames after overturning throughout a crash touchdown at Toronto’s Pearson Airport on Feb. 17.
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Nonetheless, the DOT continues to push the message that “flying remains the safest way to travel.”
Duffy mentioned he’s “committed to restoring the FAA’s mission to safety” and hopes “more great candidates” will be a part of the company.
Fox Information Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
