Transportation Secretary reaffirms stance on revoking pilots' licenses after near-miss incident

Following this incident, which resulted in no injuries, Duffy posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “It is imperative that pilots follow the instructions of air traffic controllers. If they do not, their licenses will be pulled. ”

The NTSB has announced its investigation into this runway incursion.

During the same interview, Duffy linked other recent incidents—including a mid- air collision over the Potomac River and a Delta Connection CRJ900 landing incident in Toronto—to pilot error. He stated: “There is some pilot error at play in each of these incidents. ”

In contrast, Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the NTSB, emphasized that further investigation was needed into why the Challenger 350 was taxiing across an active runway. She noted that it appeared to be an issue with the Flexjet crew following instructions from ground control.

This isn't the first time members of the Donald Trump administration have pre- empted NTSB investigations. Following a mid-air collision involving a PSA Airlines CRJ900 and a US Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, Trump attributed blame to diversity policies without evidence.

Trump claimed on CNN that he had improved hiring standards within NAS from “very mediocre at best” during Obama’s tenure to “extraordinary.”

Diversity policies were also baselessly blamed for another incident involving Delta Connection at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ). Social media posts targeted DEI initiatives because one of the pilots was female.

Delta Air Lines responded on February 20 by correcting misinformation about Endeavor Air Flight 4819's crew: “Both crew members are qualified and FAA certified for their positions. ” They added details about both pilots' qualifications; notably highlighting that any claims against them were false.