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An FAA department tasked with mapping deadly aviation obstacles such as skyscrapers and power lines has been slashed to a handful of staff under drastic DOGE cuts, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Insiders fear there are now so few cartographers logging potential hazards that planes could slam into buildings or towers as they navigate giant cityscapes like New York or Chicago.
A team of 20 or so aeronautical information specialists were previously responsible for maintaining a nationwide database listing the height and location of any man-made structure that could impact safety.
But under President Donald Trump’s sweeping purge of federal workers, the Obstacle Data Team has dwindled to a mere eight members, according to a whistleblower within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Those who remain warn that resources are stretched so thin that errors could creep into the material they provide for pilots, airlines and air traffic controllers and cause a crash.
‘A building could be mapped in the wrong place or the wrong height,’ warned our source. ‘It’s not far-fetched. We’re talking about the destruction of lives and airplanes.’
The Data Obstacle Team has been drained of funds and recruits in previous cost-cutting drives but nothing on the scale of Trump’s ‘sledgehammer approach,’ according to DailyMail.com’s whistleblower.
Nobody was specifically fired under Elon Musk’s DOGE – Department of Government Efficiency – cull of around 400 FAA workers.
President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on January 30 – one of them ordered an immediate assessment of aviation safety. FAA workers fear the exodus of cartographers could put flying in peril
A map of the North America’s deadly obstacles the FAA’s Data Obstacle Team gather into a database that shows the height and location of any man-made structure that could impact flight safety
The team had around 20 aeronautical information specialists that worked on the database, but after DOGE’s sweeping cuts came, a whistleblower told DailyMail.com that it’s dwindled to a mere eight members
But the atmosphere became so toxic that multiple staffers instead decided to accept Trump’s ‘deferred resignation’ offer and take early retirement, the source tells us.
The President’s controversial deal promised full pay and benefits through September 30 for federal workers who jumped before they were pushed.
‘They made things very inhospitable. They took away teleworking. The people who decided to stay became depressed and demoralized,’ the source explained.
The remaining workers have the daunting responsibility of maintaining the Digital Obstacle File which lists upwards of 680,000 potentially hazardous structures across US airspace.
Each item is broken down by its precise height, location, color, what exactly it is – anything from a towering Manhattan skyscraper to a rural airport perimeter fence – and whether it has lights.
This data is continually updated and feeds into the maps and charts that thousands of aviation professionals rely upon every day as they take to the skies.
Traditionally, each entry was independently verified by two members of the Data Obstacle Team to eliminate mistakes.
But that gold standard failsafe – known as ‘review’ – has been scrapped, our whistleblower reveals.
Nobody on the team was specifically fired under Elon Musk’s DOGE cull of around 400 FAA workers, but the work environment became so toxic due to funding cuts that multiple staffers accepted Trump’s ‘deferred resignation’ offer
The remaining workers have the daunting responsibility of maintaining the Digital Obstacle File which lists upwards of 680,000 potentially hazardous structures across US airspace including New York City’s skyscrapers
Traffic control tower workers worry that anything from a misidentified building or an unmapped radio mast could disorient a pilot and spell disaster for small planes, helicopters or even commercial jets during takeoff or landing
‘The team produces a database of obstacles – basically things that airplanes might hit or might not expect to be there,’ the source explained. ‘It’s their job to make sure it’s accurate.
‘Under the old system there were two sets of eyeballs looking at everything, but they don’t have the manpower to do review anymore.
‘They were initially going to have everything auto ingested by a computer.
‘That was grade A stupid but what they’ve come up with instead is grade B+ stupid – telling people to be extra careful and make sure they get it right first-time round.
‘I’m sorry but the world doesn’t work that way. Even the best people make mistakes.’
The consequences, according to our whistleblower, could be catastrophic.
Anything from a misidentified building or an unmapped radio mast could disorient a pilot and spell disaster for small planes, helicopters or even commercial jets during takeoff or landing.
‘Anything that surprises a pilot is the enemy. Number one on the list would be something you didn’t even know was there,’ the source added.
Four people were killed last month when a small plane hit a power line in unincorporated Trilla, Illinois
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pledged to update America’s aviation infrastructure by recruiting new air traffic controllers and integrating the latest supercomputers and satellite navigation tech
Duffy’s promise came after the devastating collision of a helicopter and a commercial airplane while the latter was landing at Reagan National Airport near Washington DC
‘Even things that are not very tall – power lines, fences, signs, radio towers – could be a hazard on approach or departure.’
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has claimed that the ‘fewer than 400’ FAA workers dismissed were probationary, or first-year status employees.
‘No air traffic controllers nor any professionals who perform critical safety functions were terminated,’ he insisted.
Duffy has pledged to update America’s decrepit aviation infrastructure by recruiting new air traffic controllers and integrating the latest supercomputers and satellite navigation technology.
His promise comes after January’s deadly midair collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines jet on final approach into Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C. claimed 67 lives.
Trump blamed the disaster on DEI hiring and barred the FAA from promoting diversity, equity and inclusion over competence.
But if he’s serious about the safety of the millions of people who fly each day, he must restore funding to the regulator’s vital, unsung components like the Obstacle Data Team, our source insists.
‘I supported Trump. I voted for him. But this sledgehammer approach is taking out the good with the bad,’ the whistleblower said.
President Donald Trump blamed the Reagan National disaster on DEI hiring and barred the FAA from promoting those values, but the whistleblower says the president must restore funding to the team to keep flyers safe
There’s already been mass delays and cancellations at Newark Airport due to 20 percent of FAA controllers walking off the job
‘There probably are mistakes in the database already but we won’t know about them because there’s no mechanism for double checking.
‘I’m worried for the safety of the flying public. This will cost lives. It could be in five minutes or it could be five years from now, but it’s inevitable.’
An FAA spokesman told DailyMail.com that staffers employed in ‘safety-critical functions’ were not eligible for Deferred Resignation.
‘The FAA has a large, professional and resilient workforce,’ the spokesman said.
‘We have a deep reserve of experienced talent, and we ensure orderly transitions by continuously training people to move up and assume leadership roles.
‘We are confident in our ability to continue safe operations and perform the job the American public expects us to do.’
Previous DailyMail.com reporting has highlighted a series of FAA policies dating back to Barack Obama’s first term as President that have allegedly eroded aviation safety.
One such move was the FAA’s 2013 decision to scrap its skills-based air traffic control entry exam in favor of a dumbed-down diversity quiz asking about high school grades, sports and personality traits.
Conservatives panned it as a cynical effort to boost minority ‘off the street’ hiring while excluding elite, mostly white college graduates.
Another Obama-era policy that came under the microscope was a controversial immunity scheme for air traffic controllers entitled ATSAP, or Air Traffic Safety Action Program.
The well-meaning scheme promised ‘no punitive or disciplinary actions’ for tower staffers who reported their own errors via a confidential online portal.
FAA chiefs hoped it would uncover problems that would otherwise be swept under the rug.
Critics said it gave mistake-prone controllers a dangerous loophole to escape disciplinary action for letting planes get too close, sleeping while on duty and other serious blunders.
