Since Donald Trump's return to power and Sean Duffy's appointment as Transportation Secretary, U.S. aviation safety has entered a tailspin. Here's the growing list of crashes, near-misses, serious injuries, and deaths just in 2025:
• January 13, 2025 — Potomac River Mid-Air Collision
Two small planes collided outside Washington D.C. during descent.
5 dead, including 2 children.
Early reports cite "controller understaffing and miscommunication." FAA had cut mandatory overtime to avoid bad optics.
• January 31, 2025 — Learjet Crash, Teterboro Airport (New Jersey)
Business jet overshot runway, crashed into adjacent warehouses.
2 pilots killed, 3 ground workers critically injured.
Investigation points to outdated FAA radar system and reduced maintenance inspections under Trump-Duffy budget cuts.
• January 31, 2025 — Mid-Air Collision: American Airlines Flight 5342 and Army Black Hawk Helicopter, Near Reagan National Airport
American Airlines commuter jet collided mid-air with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter during final approach to Reagan National Airport (Washington D.C.).
67 dead — all 63 passengers (including Figure Skating Team) and 4 crew on the plane, plus all 6 helicopter crew members.
Early reports: helicopter entered restricted airspace without proper FAA coordination.
Radar upgrades for D.C. National Capital Region had been delayed for budget reasons under Trump-Duffy leadership.
This was the deadly aviation accident since 2001
NTSB preliminary report cites FAA system failures, staffing shortages, and deferred radar modernization as primary causes.
• February 17, 2025 — Near Collision, Chicago Midway Airport
Southwest Airlines jet and Delta Airlines jet came within 200 feet of collision.
ATC mistake blamed; controller had been working 12-hour shifts without breaks due to shortages.
• February 28, 2025 — Mid-Air Collision and Water Crash, Key West, Florida
U.S. Coast Guard helicopter collided mid-air with a small private plane during coastal patrol.
Helicopter crash-landed into the ocean.
3 helicopter crew members killed, 1 survivor critically injured.
Private plane pilot killed. FAA coastal radar gaps and poor coordination blamed.
• March 5, 2025 — Ground Collision, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson
Two commercial jets clipped wings while taxiing.
Minor injuries to two ground crew.
FAA safety audit postponed indefinitely by Duffy appointees.
• March 23, 2025 — Mid-Air Collision: Delta Airlines Jet and Army Helicopter, Savannah, Georgia
Delta Airbus A320 collided with U.S. Army UH-72 Lakota helicopter near Savannah airport.
11 dead: 6 helicopter crew, 5 airline passengers.
Dozens more injured.
Early Trump administration response tried to blame "DEI hiring" practices in military pilots.
NTSB found the cause was ATC errors and outdated FAA radar systems, not pilot qualifications.
• March 29, 2025 — Fatal Crash, Private Charter, Nevada
Small charter plane crash in rural Nevada.
4 dead, pilot cited concerns about lack of FAA oversight but was pressured to fly.
• April 2, 2025 — Near Disaster, JFK Airport
passenger jets cleared for takeoff on intersecting runways.
Pilots caught mistake just in time.
Preliminary findings: short staffing, outdated radar.
• April 7, 2025 — Emergency Landing, Denver International Airport
Commercial jet suffered dual hydraulic failure.
Pilots credited with heroic save.
Maintenance records showed reduced inspections approved under new Trump-Duffy rules.
What's Causing This Surge in Deadly Incidents?
Massive cuts to FAA safety and modernization budgets.
Understaffing of air traffic controllers — thousands of open positions, no rush to fill.
Pressure to 'move traffic' faster, even when safety is compromised.
Key FAA safety positions vacant or filled with political loyalists, not aviation experts.
Deregulation prioritized over public safety.
Bottom Line:
Trump and Duffy have turned the FAA into a "pay-to-play" agency where corporate convenience comes first, and American lives come second.
They were warned. They were begged. They deregulated anyway. And now people are dying.
The skies aren't safer. They're bloodier.
Never forget who made it this way.
Before Trump and Duffy, under Secretary Pete Buttigieg (2021–2025), U.S. commercial aviation had its safest consecutive years on record — zero major mid-air collisions, zero fatal passenger airline crashes, and dramatically improved air traffic control staffing.
Collected from NTSB preliminary reports, FAA bulletins, and mainstream media sources.
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