On Friday night, Donald Trump and Elon Musk dismissed hundreds of employees from the Federal Aviation Administration, following a shocking series of plane crashes and air-related incidents in recent weeks. A few days later, the Trump administration reassured Americans, asserting that no significant personnel were terminated.
On Monday, Musk stated on X: “To the best of our knowledge, no one affecting safety has been let go.” Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed this, insisting that no employees responsible for safety-critical functions were dismissed, labeling alternate reports as “fake news.”
However, both current and former FAA officials express concerns that this mass dismissal could indeed impact air safety in the future. As reported by the Associated Press, the firings included “staff hired for FAA radar, landing, and navigational aid maintenance.”
Rolling Stone interviewed a terminated FAA employee who was part of a small team focused on assessing potential hazards at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. This team evaluates tens of thousands of potential new risks—like new buildings, wind turbines, and especially cranes—to inform annual flight procedures.
Prior to the firings, the obstacle impact team was already understaffed. “There are currently four people left to handle the work that requires 15,” they stated, emphasizing: “The threat to national airspace is serious. This poses a real risk to the flying public in America.”
Although the mass firings primarily affected “probationary” employees, this does not mean that only less experienced staff were impacted. The dismissed FAA employee was a veteran who had previously fulfilled the same role for years with a government contractor; after the contract ended, the FAA rehired many of the team members directly. Their probationary status, however, made the obstacle impact team prime candidates for layoffs from Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
On a personal note, the terminated employee expressed feeling deeply disrespected after decades of military and civil service to their country, saying they were discharged with just an email. While they fear losing their home, they are more worried about the future of their fellow dismissed colleagues.
When asked about Musk’s assertion that no one affecting safety was let go, they replied: “Well, he’s mistaken.” (Musk’s team at SpaceX had plans to tour the FAA’s Air Traffic Control Center on the same day, claiming their engineers will help improve air travel safety.)
After news of the mass firings broke over the weekend, FAA staff and long-time personnel who were already bracing for the worst were left shocked by the recklessness of Trump and Musk, multiple sources informed Rolling Stone.
“My initial reaction was simply, ‘Holy hell,’” remarked one FAA official.
When questioned on Tuesday about Musk and the Trump administration’s statement labeling claims of the firings of safety-critical staff as “fake news,” the FAA official curtly responded: “How do they think airports and airplanes operate?”
During the early days of Trump’s second presidency, numerous staffers and career officials within the FAA and Department of Transportation have been strategizing exits in anticipation of further cuts to probationary employees and other staff, driven by fears of potential worst-case scenarios, sources indicate.
For many of these federal employees, what transpired last week was far more shocking than they anticipated.
A source affiliated with the Transportation Department mentioned they couldn’t help but inform their partner that this could lead to American fatalities.
“President Plane Accident,” remarked this source. “Is that how Donald Trump wishes to be remembered?”
Requests for comments from spokespeople for the White House and the Department of Transportation went unanswered.
Despite Musk and the White House’s claims that the cuts had no connection to safety personnel, Rolling Stone spoke to a different terminated FAA employee whose role involved ensuring that pilots are medically fit and certified to fly—a critical responsibility, especially given the current pilot shortage in the airline industry.
“We were already behind,” stated the dismissed FAA employee. “Pilots have already complained about delays in their medical certification approvals. Now, it will only worsen.”
They noted that the FAA firings were unexpected: “We never anticipated it would happen to us, especially with the ongoing aviation incidents and existing safety concerns, all while being understaffed.”
Since Trump took office, there has been a series of alarming air accidents, including a deadly mid-air collision in the vicinity of Washington, D.C., involving an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter, a fatal plane crash in Philadelphia, and another tragic crash off the coast of Alaska. Recently, a plane arriving from Minneapolis crash-landed in Toronto, Canada.
The dismissed FAA employee from the obstacle impact team believes it’s unfair to place the blame for these incidents solely on Trump; however, they assert that his administration and Musk are undeniably elevating the risk of future accidents.
“Firing those who undertake this kind of work does not aid in accident prevention,” they argue. “None of these recent accidents involved the new administration, but future incidents are inevitable. When you terminate staff responsible for investigating and mitigating risks, it’s just a matter of time.”
If you have insights for our reporters, reach out to Andrew Perez on Signal at aperezrs.15 and Asawin Suebsaeng at swin24.68.
