SATVIKA NITYA / CONTRIBUTOR

The last two weeks have brought a swarm of aviation accidents in the U.S., striking a fear of flying among many. On Jan. 29, a collision between an American Airlines aircraft and an Army Black Hawk helicopter killed 67 people. Since then, there have been four major crashes across the country, causing the death of 17 people and injuring multiple others. One of these crashes occurred in the vicinity of USD’s community on Feb. 12 as two Navy pilots were forced to eject before a military fighter jet crashed into the San Diego Bay. This sudden spike in airplane incidents has led some to question if there are deeper issues within aviation – understaffing, inadequate training, equipment malfunctions  and  lack of  oversight. 

USD sophomore Xochitl Felix shared how recent incidents have impacted her feelings surrounding flying.

“You hear everyone saying how you’re less likely to get into a plane crash than a car crash and all these accidents just make me question that,” Felix said. “With all the trips I have coming up, going back for Easter break, I don’t really know if I want to take a plane and if I should just drive back. And I’m lucky to have a car and drive back home whereas a lot of people don’t even have that option. It doesn’t make me wanna fly anymore and I’m already scared of flying. It’s just such a stressful environment and it doesn’t seem safe anymore.”

The mid-air collision between the American Airlines aircraft and U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter was the first crash and the biggest accident in the series. After a preliminary investigation, it was revealed that the crash occurred at 325 feet, which exceeded the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 200 feet limit for helicopters. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) later revealed that the helicopter crew may have had differing information on altitudes in the seconds before the crash.

The Black Hawk helicopter was conducting a routine annual training while the American Airlines flight was preparing to land at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport National Airport en route from Kansas at the time of the collision. There were 64 passengers on the plane and three soldiers on the helicopter. No one survived.

USD junior Ash Haynes lives 30 minutes away from the collision site in DC. Haynes shared his thoughts after hearing about the accident.

“I just got back to USD two days prior to the crash and it just reminded me that there are such huge political, environmental and disastrous events happening around the country,” Haynes said. “It’s scary because everybody else is watching this on TV, and for me, I see this right outside my house. I live 30 minutes away from the incident and when I heard about it, I was just disappointed at seeing another sad event.”

This recent spike in the frequency of tragic accidents have caused local authorities, citizens and federal agencies to question the reasons behind the incidents. One of Trump’s first executive orders was to fire the heads and members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee — a committee responsible for the work of examining safety issues at airlines and airports. This decision came shortly after the chief of the FAA, Michael Whitaker, resigned from his position on Inauguration Day.

Earlier this week, a Delta Airline flight flipped while landing in Toronto. Photo courtesy of @vinod_r108/X

PBS recently reported that the firings hit the FAA when it faced a shortfall in controllers and that “federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years” due to various reasons ranging from “uncompetitive pay, long shifts, intensive training and mandatory retirements.” Some have made this connection between the loss of workers and the crashes, claiming that Trump’s firing is a leading factor for the FAA being understaffed which in turn led to the crashes. Others claim that there have been issues with aviation staffing for years and that the time span between the firings and flight accidents were too close to actually have an impact. 

USD junior Tatum Mosley shared her opinion on what the reasons behind the aviation incidents could be. 

“I think it’s a combination of both the firing and administration,” said Mosley. “I mean yes, Trump did fire a lot of people but I think the firing just made an already bad situation even worse. Right now I think everyone’s pointing fingers but it would be better if instead of playing the blame game both the FAA and Trump could work together to fix the issue because people are dying because of it. If they did that, it would make me feel safer to fly.”

In a press conference after the DC accident, Trump gave multiple reasons for the collision, including Biden and Obama’s administration and the FAA’s Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) initiative in the process of hiring. 

“The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions, can you imagine,” Trump said. “[The FAA] says diversity is integral to achieving FAA’s mission of ensuring safe and efficient travel. I don’t think so, I think it’s just the opposite. I assume maybe this is the reason.”

Felix shared her thoughts on the validity of DEI hiring being the causal factor for the recent plane crashes.

“I just don’t think DEI hiring is the cause for the crashes at all and in my mind, it’s such an idiot thing for [Trump] to say,” Felix said. “I don’t think any employer would hire anyone who is underqualified, especially in a position where people’s lives could be affected. If they are hiring people with disabilities, those disabilities wouldn’t impact their actual job because being qualified would prove that already.”

Apart from crashes, there have also been several accidents between planes on land. A Japan Airlines flight hit its right wing into the tail of a parked Delta plane at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport in early February. A few days later, another plane went off the runway and crashed into a parked Gulfstream jet at the Scottsdale Municipal Airport in Arizona.

This series of plane crashes reached San Diego on the morning of Feb. 12 when a military fighter jet crashed into the San Diego Bay. The jet had two service members on board, both who managed to eject the plane before the crash. They were rescued safely and are in stable and good condition. The most incident reported after the SD case is a Delta airlines flight from Minneapolis that crashed and overturned at the Toronto Pearson Airport when landing. Like all the other crash cases, investigations into the cause of these accidents are still ongoing.

Though the actual causes for these crashes is yet to be determined, both the FAA and Trump’s administration are working to investigate the reasons for and solutions to the recent rise of aviation accidents.

Wreckage from the collision in the Potomac River could be seen from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Photo courtesy of @nytimes/Instagram