A United Airlines flight comes in to land behind the air traffic control tower at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Feb. 4, 2024. Transportation Secretary Sean Duff announced in May that the FAA is on track to hire at least 2,000 air traffic controllers this year while working to retain veteran staff. The agency is currently short about 3,000 controllers. Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesPremium ReportsWe Asked Pilots, Safety Experts How to Make Aviation Safer‘Most accidents occur after some sort of change. So you make a major change, and you are opening yourself up to new scenarios,’ one safety expert said.A United Airlines flight comes in to land behind the air traffic control tower at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Feb. 4, 2024. Transportation Secretary Sean Duff announced in May that the FAA is on track to hire at least 2,000 air traffic controllers this year while working to retain veteran staff. The agency is currently short about 3,000 controllers. Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesPremium ReportsWe Asked Pilots, Safety Experts How to Make Aviation Safer‘Most accidents occur after some sort of change. So you make a major change, and you are opening yourself up to new scenarios,’ one safety expert said.