DOT secretary says he spoke with Elon Musk on U.S. airspace reforms

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 about 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 differently than I think probably a lot of us do, but he has access to the best technological people, the best engineers in the world,” Duffy said Wednesday at a roadway transportation event in Washington. “We’re going to remake our airspace, and we’re going to do it quickly.”

Duffy’s comments come a 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 the United States since 2001.

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

SpaceX, along with other space companies, shares airspace with commercial airplanes. 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 commercial flights to divert or delay to avoid the area.

U.S. airline executives have for years called for additional funding for the modernization of U.S. air traffic control systems and additional 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 both airplane and helicopter traffic at the time of the crash and that he will “look at the policies and the procedures inside the tower.”

“We’re going to pull that authority back to make sure that we have the right policies in place inside our towers to make sure when you fly, you’re safe,” he said.

Duffy said officials need to look at the safety of conducting military training missions at night.

“And if we have generals who are flying in helicopters for convenience through this airspace, that’s not acceptable,” he said. “Get in a damn Suburban and drive. You don’t need to 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, is still probing the cause of the deadly collision.

— CNBC’s Michael Sheetz contributed to this report.