From 2009 up until last month there were no fatal U.S. commercial passenger jet accidents. But the deadly crash at Reagan National Airport in Washington is a reminder of the risks. It was a collision waiting to happen. The FAA reports 1,200 near misses on runways last year and nearly 200 in air “operational incidents” where air traffic controller mistakes nearly caused fatal crashes.

Last Thursday, President Trump promised a “great, computerized system” of air traffic control, something “brand new … done by two or three companies.” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he has already contacted Elon Musk’s DOGE team and asked him “to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system.”

Duffy has already moved to grow the number of qualified air traffic controllers by lifting their mandatory retirement age from 56 to something closer to the 65-year cap for airline pilots.

Maybe privatization is the answer. President Trump supported this during his first term and he is right that our ATC system is “stuck, painfully, in the past … ancient, broken, antiquated.”

Transportation expert Bob Poole notes: “Countless studies have shown that other countries’ ATC systems are better-managed, better-funded, and better-supplied with advanced technology.” This is a disgrace that causes accidents and thousands of flight delays.