Summary
Elon Musk called on retired air traffic controllers to return to work, citing a shortage amid heightened scrutiny of the FAA under Trump’s second term.
With DOT Secretary Sean Duffy’s support, Musk’s DOGE attempts to “upgrade” aviation systems despite recent FAA job cuts.
The AP reports fired employees included radar and navigational aid maintenance personnel, though Duffy insisted no “critical safety personnel” were terminated.
Musk’s appeal comes amid increased public concern over recent aviation incidents, though experts consider the uptick an anomaly.
Amusing that his Twitter avatar looks like a black hole, considering that’s where his abject incompetence is sucking the national infrastructure (and all of us) into.
On this latest debacle: Great idea Musk! Fire a bunch of people from an already stressed-out agency, then watch as a string of accidents happen, and then publication beg for retired controllers to come back.
Pushing tin is an incredibly stressful and intense job. Those who retired are probably a) no longer capable of dealing with that stress, and/or b) don’t want to deal with it and deserve a well-earned retirement.
But hey, maybe with all the bullshit stripping away of social security, Medicare, etc etc, they will be forced to come out of retirement to help. I’m sure that’s not a recipe for disaster!
For fuck’s sake, we live in the stupidest timeline, I swear. And we can’t even fully enjoy Musk ruining his ill-deserved legacy and humiliating himself, because all of us are the collateral damage.
You’re giving them ideas damnit
Ahh shit, you’re right!