DOT Secretary spoke with Musk on airspace reform

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 in regards to 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 otherwise than I believe probably a variety of us do, but he has access to the perfect technological people, the perfect engineers on the earth,” Duffy said Wednesday at a roadway transportation event in Washington. “We will remake our airspace, and we will do it quickly.”

Duffy’s comments come every 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 america since 2001.

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

SpaceX, together with other space corporations, shares airspace with industrial airplanes. The FAA, which oversees U.S. airspace, also oversees Musk’s SpaceX. Musk threatened to sue FAA over “regulatory overreach” last 12 months when the agency didn’t approve launch licenses for SpaceX as rapidly as he wished.

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 economic flights to divert or delay to avoid the realm.

U.S. airline executives have for years called for added funding for the modernization of U.S. air traffic control systems and extra 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 each airplane and helicopter traffic on the time of the crash and that he’ll “have a look at the policies and the procedures contained in the tower.”

“We will pull that authority back to make certain that we have now the fitting policies in place inside our towers to make certain once you fly, you are protected,” he said.

Duffy said officials need to take a look at the security of conducting military training missions at night.

“And if we have now generals who’re flying in helicopters for convenience through this airspace, that is not acceptable,” he said. “Get in a rattling Suburban and drive. You needn’t 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, continues to be probing the reason behind the deadly collision.

— CNBC’s Michael Sheetz contributed to this report.