FAA Scare

While Flying is Still Relatively Safe, MWCC Community Acknowledges Recent Events

By Benjamin Heffner | Staff Writer

Since the January 29, 2025 fatal Mid-air collision in Washington D.C. between an American Airline and a Black hawk helicopter,  several other incidents have made their way into the news, including a fatal MedVac crash in Philadelphia, a Delta Airlines flight overturning and catching fire on the runway while landing in Toronto, and a midair collision in Arizona.  These incidents, coupled with President’s Trump’s administration’s laying off of over 400 Federal Aviation Administration employees and 200 Transportation Safety Administration, has led to flying in the news more frequently. In relation to this news, some at Mount Wachusett Community College find themselves reflecting on the safety of air travel, even as it remains statistically less dangerous than driving.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) press release on February 14, 2025, the D.C. plane crash, which killed all 64 passengers and crew aboard the regional jet and all 3 crew aboard the  helicopter, may have been a result of failed communication between the helicopter and air traffic control. In that press release, Chairman Jennifer Hormendy, said “CVR data from the Blackhawk indicated that the portion of the transmission that stated ‘pass behind the [CRJ700]’ may not have been received by the Blackhawk crew.”

However, a politicized movement led by President Trump suggesting the crash was the result of the Federal Aviation Administrations (FAA) diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)  goals, and the fault of former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, as well as former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, have led to rumors and false claims about an uptick in news coverage  involving aviation crashes and near-misses. Trump claimed “problematic and likely illegal decisions during the Obama and Biden Administrations that minimized merit and competence in the FAA.” Meanwhile, the ongoing NTSB investigation has found no evidence of a direct connection between DEI initiatives and the accident.

Assistant Professor of Physics and Mathematics, Dr. Peter Olszak, reflected on the recent aviation accidents. “It seems like there’s a series of events that are closely related together,” said Olszak. He further explained that aircrafts rely on flight and lift, in addition to Bernoulli’s principle, to keep them in the air. “Lift is the primary source, but you also need drag and force in slowing you down,” Olszak said.

Many MWCC students and faculty agreed that while the recent news of aviation crashes and near-misses is concerning, it doesn’t deter them from flying in the near future. Andie Libby, a Human Services major, faces a fear of flying due to her claustrophobia. “Being flung into the air without the chance to get out for multiple hours, is EXTREMELY nerve racking,” she said. Vana Kingsley, a journalism major, said that while she doesn’t see a need to fly at the moment, she argues that recent aviation tragedies cause people to interpret something bad. “I understand the practicality of that, but mostly, I wish we could all be sad for the victims without our own fight or flight responses sensing some sort of broader danger and kicking in”, she said. However, some like Bob Meyer, the director of Veteran Services and a former air traffic controller, feel that aviation has become unsafe in recent years. “I think things are worse than when I was an air traffic controller many years ago,” Meyer said. These concerns echo those raised by FAA employees last November. A fifty-two page report was released detailing the FAA should be protected from annual funding battles in Washington in the midst of Congress trying to resolve a potential government shutdown.

Perhaps no student or faculty member has experienced a more terrible fear of flying than Kyle LeGrand, the kitchen manager for the Green Street Café. LeGrand cites many reasons, mostly claustrophobia. “The  idea of being stuck in an aluminum tube without access to fresh air, concerns me,” LeGrand said.  LeGrand also added that the last time he flew over 20 years ago from Orlando to Pittsburgh, his aircraft hit a significant amount of turbulence that resulted in oxygen masks having to be deployed. “The wings were shuttering and all of the lights in the fuselage went out,” he said.

“As a mental health practitioner, I see students navigating a wide range of fears, and flying is a  particularly common one,” said Leanne Hadsel, MWCC’s mental counselor. Hadsel gives a couple of  coping strategies for fear of flying, including preparing your mind and body in advance, regulating your  nervous system, shifting your thinking, bringing distractions, and seeking support. “Fear, including  aviophobia (fear of flying), isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s simply the brain’s way of trying to protect  you,” Hadsel says.