The Federal Aviation Administration has reportedly banned its employees from attending advisory panels set up to explore how to make air travel safer, Politico reported on Tuesday.
A new directive issued to FAA employees says they “should not attend (in-person or virtually) … until further notice,” according to the report. The panels themselves can continue, the directive said, but with an industry co-chair "taking the lead" without buy-in from experts at the FAA.
"These advisory committees are made up of government and industry representatives who meet regularly to find consensus on outstanding issues," said the report. "Ongoing ones include those related to pilot training and mental health, drones and other emerging technologies, airspace modernization and commercial space operations. Broadly speaking, they tackle ways to reduce risk across the aviation system, taking guidance from airlines, union groups and even companies that make parts for aircraft."
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One employee told Politico, “It appears that safety is being forced to take a back seat due to fear of retribution, which means we all lose.”
All of this comes as the Department of Transportation investigates the midair helicopter collision that downed American Eagle Flight 5342 in the Potomac just outside Washington National Airport — the first fatal crash of a U.S. commercial aircraft in 16 years.
President Donald Trump, who recently appointed former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) to head up the Department of Transportation, has suggested with no evidence that diversity hiring at the FAA may have been responsible for the accident. His administration has separately come under criticism for forcing out key aviation safety officials in the days before the crash, at the recommendation of tech billionaire Elon Musk.