US transportation chief: Pilot error to blame for most recent plane crashes

ISTANBUL

Pilot error was a factor in most recent major crashes and near misses, according to the US transportation secretary, urging harsher penalties for pilots who ignore air traffic controllers.

In an interview with NBC News, Sean Duffy said pilots should lose their licenses if they disregard air traffic controllers' instructions.

“A consequence-free space where you make errors, serious errors, and you don’t pay any kind of price for it, something’s wrong with that,” he said.

“There’s some pilot error at play in each of these incidents,” he added, stressing that they have brought renewed attention to the need for safety enhancements and system improvements.

“And maybe this is the way we get pilots to start paying attention again and following the direction of air traffic controllers,” Duffy said.

He also announced a plan to accelerate hiring air traffic controllers from Feb. 27 to March 17 and raise starting salaries by 30% for candidates attending the academy.

The statement came amid a series of crashes that has fueled fear and anxiety among air travelers starting with last month’s midair collision of a military helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet near Washington, DC, which killed 67 people.

On Feb. 18, just weeks after the collision, the new Trump administration began firing hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration employees, including personnel who directly or indirectly supported air traffic controllers, facilities, and technology used for air safety, according to the union representing the workers.

The firings came as part of cost-cutting measures that critics have called indiscriminate and reckless.