During the campaign, Musk demanded the resignation of FAA administrator Michael Whitaker, who clashed with Musk over regulating SpaceX and stepped down the day before Trump took office. That left the FAA leaderless until Trump, at a Thursday press conference after the crash, named an acting head of the agency.

Persistent staff shortages have raised safety concerns. At many facilities, staffing is so low that at least a quarter of the work force is missing.

Democrats previously hit out at the president's federal hiring freeze for hindering the "number one safety issue" in aviation.

The FAA has said that all controllers have to meet tough testing and training standards and go through a lengthy certification process.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the air traffic control staffing was “not normal” during the Wednesday night plane collision between an American Airlines passenger plane and an Army

The FAA has previously said it is 3,000 controllers behind staffing targets. A union representing controllers said there are about 10,800 certified controllers -- about the same a

The worst aerial disaster in the past decade sent shockwaves through the aviation community, including a former Air Traffic Controller in Lancaster County.