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A senior FAA official said the agency is accelerating air traffic control modernization, hiring thousands of controllers and strengthening safety oversight following the deadly midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Blackhawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan 29, 2025.
Chris Rocheleau, FAA deputy administrator, said the crash marked a "defining moment for the agency" and prompted immediate emergency response and long-term safety reforms.
"We were kind of, you know, all in as to make sure we're focusing on the right things, like safety. We were focusing on the people, making sure we had the controllers and the like. Rocheleau said during a NBAA webinar interview with president, Ed Bolen, on Wednesday.
Rocheleau said FAA leadership coordinated with the NTSB, the White House, airlines, and military officials in the hours after the crash, clearing airspace around Reagan National Airport and deploying resources to support the investigation and air traffic operations.
In response, the FAA launched a nationwide safety review and increased use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze safety data and identify operational risks more quickly, he said.
The agency is also advancing a multibillion-dollar effort to modernize the nation's aging air traffic control system, supported by $12.5 billion in initial federal funding. The plan includes replacing legacy copper communications infrastructure with fiber optics, deploying more than 600 new radar systems, and expanding surface safety technologies at airports.
Rocheleau said the FAA has already converted nearly half of the targeted copper communications lines to fiber and begun deploying new radar equipment, with a broader transition to digital air traffic infrastructure expected by 2028.
"You see the outages and some of the struggles that, whether it was a controller shortage or whether it was the technology itself that really needed to be brought into the 21st Century," said Rocheleau.
Staffing remains a key priority. The FAA hired more than 2,000 air traffic controllers last year and aims to recruit at least 2,200 more this year, while streamlining training pipelines and expanding partnerships with collegiate aviation programs to address longstanding staffing shortages.
The agency also reorganized its leadership structure and introduced a "Flight Plan 2026" strategy focused on three priorities: improving safety data integration, strengthening workforce recruitment and training, and modernizing airspace and operational systems.RELATED STORY:NTSB releases final report on Potomac Midair Collision