President Donald Trump met with American Airlines Chief Executive Officer Robert Isom on Wednesday to discuss Trump’s push for additional investment in updated air traffic control systems.
The meeting comes weeks after a deadly collision between a military helicopter and a regional jet.
The pair were joined by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, according to a White House official.
All 64 people aboard an American Airlines plane landing at Washington’s Reagan National Airport were killed when it collided with a military helicopter flying over the Potomac River.
The three servicemembers aboard the US Army Black Hawk helicopter also perished in the deadliest aviation disaster in the US since 2001.
While the official investigation is still ongoing, Trump has said that indications were that the military helicopter was flying higher than it usual when it crashed into the CRJ-700 jet inbound from Wichita, Kansas.
Earlier this month, Duffy told reporters he wanted to focus efforts on a “whole upgrade of the airspace” and that he had spoken with billionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk about improving air traffic control technology, some of which currently includes nearly century-old radar systems.
“We’re going to upgrade it and make sure that America has the most innovative, technologically advanced air system, air traffic control system,” Duffy said.
“That’s going to make it safer and it’s going to make it more efficient.”
The meeting between Trump and American Airlines was first reported by Reuters.
