Transportation sec reassures public about air travel safety after deadly crash

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reassured the American public that air travel is safe in the wake of a deadly D.C. plane crash last week that killed more than 60 people and a plane crash in Philadelphia that left 7 people dead.

Duffy, a former FOX Business co-host, told “The Ingraham Angle” Monday that air travel is the safest form of travel in the country, and if the airspace weren’t safe, the Federal Aviation Administration would shut it down.

“Air travel is the safest form of travel in the country. So you can travel and feel good about it on American airplanes,” he said. 

“This is the safest mode of transportation, and again, I think we should understand that as a public, but then also demand that we can’t stand to have these crashes. These are unacceptable.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating what went wrong after an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet near Reagan National Airport late Wednesday night.

Duffy said the agency will prioritize safety over the environment, social justice and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.  

TRUMP HAS TENSE EXCHANGE WITH CNN REPORTER OVER BLAMING DEI POLICIES IN PLANE CRASH

President Donald Trump suggested last week without evidence that DEI hiring practices could have played a role in the crash. Investigators are still piecing information together as they work to provide victims’ families with answers.

Duffy told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that staffing is “too short” and the agency lost a lot of air traffic controllers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have a plan in place. We’re going to surge air traffic controllers. We have some ideas on how we can do that quickly, faster than in the past and get, you know, smart, the smartest men and women in the country in those towers,” he said, adding that a new plan would be released in the coming days.

The former Wisconsin congressman also called for upgrades to the country’s air traffic control system, something he said should have been done decades ago.

“I think everyone’s on board to make this happen, Democrats and Republicans,” Duffy asserted. “The president wants it done. And so I think this is the time. Let’s fix the system and make sure it’s even safer and even more efficient.”