SpaceX Team Visits Key Air Traffic Command Center in Virginia

An American Airlines Airbus A319 airplane takes off past the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 11, 2023. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

A team from Elon Musk-owned SpaceX visited a federal air traffic control center on Feb. 17 as officials have said they are looking for ways to improve the system after January’s deadly plane crash in Washington.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on social media platform X on the evening of Feb. 17 that a SpaceX team was visiting the Air Traffic Control System Command Center in New Baltimore, Virginia, to “get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools,” and envision a “new, better, modern and safer system.”

Duffy then said that the SpaceX team was not “getting special access” and noted that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “regularly gives tours of the command center to both media and companies.”

“[The Department of Transportation] is open to any and all patriotic developers or companies who want to help our country in this incredible, game-changing mission,” he said. “I hope to hear from any company committed to ushering in America’s golden age of travel.”

Although some reports, including one from Reuters, claimed that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was visiting the Virginia command center, Duffy’s statement on X made no mention of DOGE. He referenced only SpaceX, a private company headed and operated by Musk.

In response, Musk wrote on X: “The safety of air travel is a non-partisan matter. SpaceX engineers will help make air travel safer.”

Several weeks ago, President Donald Trump called for an overhaul of the air traffic control system after an American Airlines-operated jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people, on Jan. 29.

The incident is under investigation, with officials saying that one air traffic controller who was involved had been handling both commercial airline and helicopter traffic at the busy airport.

Trump signed an executive order in late January to end diversity, equity, and inclusion policies inside the FAA and said it was done to reform a “hiring policy that prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion ... over safety and efficiency.”

Aside from new hiring practices, the order “requires the FAA Administrator to review the past performance and performance standards of all FAA employees in critical safety positions and make clear that any individual who fails to demonstrate adequate capability is replaced by someone who will ensure Americans’ flight safety and efficiency.”

Late last week, the Trump administration laid off some probationary employees with the FAA involved in air traffic control, according to David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a brief statement on Feb. 17 that it was “analyzing the effect of the reported federal employee terminations on aviation safety, the national airspace system and [association] members.”

Spero said termination messages began to arrive after 7 p.m. on Feb. 14 and continued late into the night. More employees might be notified over the long holiday weekend or barred from entering FAA buildings on Feb. 18, he said.

Multiple agency spokespeople have told The Epoch Times that the Trump administration started terminating employees across several departments, including people on probationary status.

The agencies include the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and others.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.