Zach Wichter

The safety incidents that we've seen are absolutely anomalies. Flying commercially in the U.S. is still the safest way to travel.

The safety incidents that we've seen are absolutely anomalies. Flying commercially in the U.S. is still the safest way to travel.

Experts in aviation safety often like to say that aviation safety operates on the so-called Swiss cheese model, where, like, there's no such thing as a 100% safe system, especially when it comes to something as complex as air travel, where there are tens of thousands of flights a day in the U.S.,

Experts in aviation safety often like to say that aviation safety operates on the so-called Swiss cheese model, where, like, there's no such thing as a 100% safe system, especially when it comes to something as complex as air travel, where there are tens of thousands of flights a day in the U.S.,

The idea is to try to keep the gaps in the safety system apart from each other and that these incidents only really happen when they align.

The idea is to try to keep the gaps in the safety system apart from each other and that these incidents only really happen when they align.

None of what I'm about to say means that air traffic control is unsafe. But the way that the Federal Aviation Administration does its funding is kind of piecemeal. It gets funded by Congress essentially every five years. And because of that structure, it's been really hard for Congress and the agency to fund tech upgrades.

None of what I'm about to say means that air traffic control is unsafe. But the way that the Federal Aviation Administration does its funding is kind of piecemeal. It gets funded by Congress essentially every five years. And because of that structure, it's been really hard for Congress and the agency to fund tech upgrades.

And it's also been really hard to fund the hiring and training of new air traffic controllers. And this is something that experts who are familiar with aviation have sort of been warning about for years, if not decades.

And it's also been really hard to fund the hiring and training of new air traffic controllers. And this is something that experts who are familiar with aviation have sort of been warning about for years, if not decades.

Absolutely, yes.

Absolutely, yes.

16 years without a fatal commercial airline crash at a U.S. airline. It's a really good track record.

16 years without a fatal commercial airline crash at a U.S. airline. It's a really good track record.

I just think it's important to keep in mind that it's so rare and that's a good sign. It's still very safe. And so even though we're thinking about it more than we maybe have in, you know, 10 or 15 years, it's important to remember that it's still the safest way to get around.

I just think it's important to keep in mind that it's so rare and that's a good sign. It's still very safe. And so even though we're thinking about it more than we maybe have in, you know, 10 or 15 years, it's important to remember that it's still the safest way to get around.

The system moves slowly. So it's very unlikely that a change in administration has any direct correlation to what happened here. We don't know if this came down to pilot error or some sort of mechanical issue or or something with air traffic control. But the fact is that any of those factors would have been in place before President Trump was inaugurated.

The system moves slowly. So it's very unlikely that a change in administration has any direct correlation to what happened here. We don't know if this came down to pilot error or some sort of mechanical issue or or something with air traffic control. But the fact is that any of those factors would have been in place before President Trump was inaugurated.

And even if President Trump had really put a focus on changing things at any of these possible avenues for cause of this disaster, it wouldn't happen overnight. And so it's really unlikely that there is any political angle to this.

And even if President Trump had really put a focus on changing things at any of these possible avenues for cause of this disaster, it wouldn't happen overnight. And so it's really unlikely that there is any political angle to this.

The safety incidents that we've seen are absolutely anomalies. Flying commercially in the U.S. is still the safest way to travel.

Experts in aviation safety often like to say that aviation safety operates on the so-called Swiss cheese model, where, like, there's no such thing as a 100% safe system, especially when it comes to something as complex as air travel, where there are tens of thousands of flights a day in the U.S.,

The idea is to try to keep the gaps in the safety system apart from each other and that these incidents only really happen when they align.

None of what I'm about to say means that air traffic control is unsafe. But the way that the Federal Aviation Administration does its funding is kind of piecemeal. It gets funded by Congress essentially every five years. And because of that structure, it's been really hard for Congress and the agency to fund tech upgrades.

And it's also been really hard to fund the hiring and training of new air traffic controllers. And this is something that experts who are familiar with aviation have sort of been warning about for years, if not decades.

Absolutely, yes.

16 years without a fatal commercial airline crash at a U.S. airline. It's a really good track record.

I just think it's important to keep in mind that it's so rare and that's a good sign. It's still very safe. And so even though we're thinking about it more than we maybe have in, you know, 10 or 15 years, it's important to remember that it's still the safest way to get around.

The system moves slowly. So it's very unlikely that a change in administration has any direct correlation to what happened here. We don't know if this came down to pilot error or some sort of mechanical issue or or something with air traffic control. But the fact is that any of those factors would have been in place before President Trump was inaugurated.

And even if President Trump had really put a focus on changing things at any of these possible avenues for cause of this disaster, it wouldn't happen overnight. And so it's really unlikely that there is any political angle to this.