Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced plans to bolster airport air traffic control systems with the latest technology over the next four years, while also using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify “hot spots” where close encounters between aircraft occur frequently.

The announcement came after an update on an investigation into a crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, when a U.S. Army helicopter and an American Airlines-operated passenger jet collided over the Potomac River Jan. 29.

“We’re here because 67 souls lost their lives on Jan. 29,” Duffy told reporters Tuesday, noting that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) unveiled its preliminary findings into the crash earlier in the day.

The findings noted that, over the last 2½ years, there have been 85 near misses or close calls at Reagan National. Close calls were identified as incidents when there are less than 200 feet of vertical separation and 1,500 feet of lateral separation between aircraft.

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Appearing shocked at the findings, Duffy questioned how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) did not know about the “hot spot,” where near misses happen frequently.

“We’re having near misses, and if we don’t change our way, we’re going to lose lives,” he said. “That wasn’t done. Maybe there was a focus on something other than safety, but in this administration, we are focusing on safety.”

The FAA has deployed AI tools to sift through data and find additional hot spots in U.S. airspace near airports to find similar situations to what has been happening at Reagan National.

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy holds a briefing on the deadly Jan. 29 midair plane crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. (Fox News/Pool)

Once the hot spots are identified, Duffy’s team will implement changes to reduce the close encounters between aircraft.

Duffy also said he has learned that air traffic control systems across the country are 25 to 30 years old, and some of them even use floppy disks as if they were stuck in the 1980s.

While the system is antiquated, the secretary stressed it was safe. Despite the system being safe, Duffy said it needs to be upgraded.

“This should have happened four years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago,” he said. “But, right now, we’re at a point where we can actually do it. And we can do it really fast.”

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy holds a briefing on the deadly Jan. 29 midair plane crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed 67 people. (Fox News/Pool)

Duffy said the task could take up to four years to complete.

The job entails bringing in a brand-new air traffic control system, switching from copper wires to a combination of fiber, wireless and satellite systems.

The current radar system from the 1970s or early 1980s works, but Duffy wants to put state-of-the-art radar in place and terminals with the right screens and the best technology.

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The Stansted Airport control tower in the United Kingdom (NATS U.K.)

“We’re going to deploy resources for runway safety — new technology that will allow our air traffic controllers not to use binoculars in the tower to see where aircraft are at, but to actually have ground radar sensors at our airports that will allow air traffic controllers to see where airplanes are at,” he said. 

“We’ve heard a lot of new stories of just near misses on the tarmac. And how do you alleviate that? Take away the binoculars and give them technology so they can see on their screens where every aircraft is located.

“By doing this, we are going to greatly improve our safety in the system.” 

Technology, on the other hand, is not cheap, which the secretary acknowledged.

In an environment in which the Department of Government Efficiency is looking for ways to cut costs and save money, Duffy explained making upgrades in the name of safety is worth the investment.

Over the next couple of weeks, Duffy said, he plans to introduce his plan to Congress and take in their feedback.

Once he goes through the feedback, Duffy said he plans to return to Congress and ask for the money up front to expedite the process of upgrading the air traffic control systems.

“It’s not that the FAA didn’t want to do the upgrades,” he said. “It just takes too long. So, they have to give us the money. We’re going to later lay out our plan to actually do it really quickly.”

I have been outspoken, including in the Los Angeles Times, about my concern about increasing antisemitism on college campuses. But the solution cannot be to deport those who express messages that President Trump, or anyone else, dislikes. Arresting and seeking to deport a Columbia University student for his speech activities clearly violates the 1st Amendment — and does nothing to combat antisemitism on campus.

On Saturday night, Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and Syrian national, was arrested in New York by federal immigration authorities. He is lawfully in the United States, possessing a green card. The only known basis for his apprehension is his having been a leader of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia last spring and allegedly to have said objectionable things about Israel and Zionists.

Trump was explicit in his posts on Truth Social that the arrest and planned deportation were entirely about Khalil’s speech. Trump wrote: “We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.” He said, “We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”

This follows an executive order that called for revoking student visas for individuals suspected of sympathizing with Hamas. The White House said: “To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you.”

On Monday, Trump declared that the action against Khalil is the first “of many to come.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media that the government “will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters.”

Trump’s statements, his executive order and his actions against Khalil show a profound disregard of the 1st Amendment. All in the United States — citizen and noncitizen — have freedom of speech. No one can be punished under the law, including by deportation, for the ideas they express.

The Supreme Court long has stressed that the Constitution protects the ability to express views that many find deeply objectionable. It has declared, “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable.”

Even if Khalil’s speech was hateful, and even if it was antisemitic, it was protected by the 1st Amendment. The Supreme Court repeatedly has made clear that hate speech is constitutionally protected and cannot be a basis for punishment by the government. In fact, even if Khalil voiced his support for Hamas, that, too, is an idea that can be expressed under the 1st Amendment. Speaking in favor of Hamas is not, by any stretch of the definition, material support for a terrorist organization.

Thus, even those who loathe what Khalil said should fervently defend his right to say it and oppose the Trump administration’s actions. Otherwise, the federal government would have the power to deem any view so objectionable that it could deport noncitizens expressing it. As I constantly explain to my students, the only way my speech will be safe tomorrow is to protect the speech that I detest today.

I recognize that criticisms of Israel, at times, have become antisemitic, using awful stereotypes about Jews. (It also must be stressed that criticism of Israel’s policies is no more antisemitic than it is anti-American to criticize the federal government’s policies.) When there is antisemitism on campus, schools have a duty to respond. But this must be achieved in a way that does not violate the 1st Amendment. Campus officials can condemn antisemitic expression. Schools can ensure that Jewish students are not harassed. There can be programs and trainings about antisemitism. But under the 1st Amendment, the solution must be more speech, not punishing expression.

The arrest and deportation of Khalil followed a day after the Trump administration cut off $400 million to Columbia University because of its alleged failure to deal with antisemitism. This, too, is deeply disturbing. A school legally cannot and should not be held responsible for the views expressed by its students. Indeed, to punish the university for the speech that occurred there is, once again, a violation of the 1st Amendment. Cutting off $400 million without a semblance of due process is a blatantly illegal attempt to intimidate universities across the country.

While the actions of the Trump administration will greatly chill speech, they will not address the problem of antisemitism on campuses. My hope is that Jews, whether liberal or conservative, will say loudly: Do not do this in our name or to protect us. We know all too well how government power can be used against a minority group.

Erwin Chemerinsky, a contributing writer to Opinion, is dean of the UC Berkeley Law School. His latest book is “No Democracy Lasts Forever: How the Constitution Threatens the United States.”