by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 2:35 PM ET, Tue January 27, 2026
The Trump Administration has announced it will be restructuring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and creating a new safety oversight office a day before the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is set to criticize the governmental agency at a hearing to determine the cause of the deadly collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet that killed 67 individuals that occurred in January, 2025.
According to Reuters, the NTSB reported over 15,000 incidents near Reagan Washington International Airport between commercial airplanes and helicopters since 2021, and NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy has said the FAA ignored serious warnings about the safety issues there.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administration Bryan Bedford announced the new organizational structure on Monday, January 27.
The plan is sparse, but notes that there’s to be a single safety oversight office, instead of several different safety organizations within different parts of the agency; an airspace modernization office to manage the air traffic system overhaul; an advanced aviation technologies office to integrate drones, eVTOLs and air mobility vehicles into American airspace and consolidating finance, IT and human resources management under the administrator.
Unlike prior changes, this plan is not expected to reduce the workforce within the FAA.
“It’s important that we have the right people in the right places to do the best work possible,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “These actions will put permanent leaders in place who embrace innovation, share safety data and insights freely and are focused on deploying a brand-new air traffic control system all while integrating key innovation technologies into the new National Airspace System (NAS).”
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