Elon Musk's SpaceX heads to the FAA's Air Traffic Control Center to help make America's skies safer

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Members of Elon Musk's SpaceX team were scheduled to meet Monday with officials from the Federal Aviation Administration to 'suggest improvements.' 

The meeting came the same day as yet another startling plane crash happened as a Delta passenger plane carrying 76 people crashed at Toronto's Pearson Airport on Monday.

Donald Trump's White House began firing hundreds of workers at the FAA this past weekend, cutting staff weeks after personnel shortages were cited as a factor in the fatal mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. 

Sean Duffy says that the team as SpaceX was set to visit Virginia's FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center Monday saying he needed the help of 'the brightest minds in America.'

He wrote that the visit will allow the team to 'get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system.' 

Duffy, noting that 'the media (and Hillary Clinton)' believed that Musk and his employees would get 'special access,' clarified that it was typical for private companies to get tours. 

SpaceX does have $22 billion worth of government contracts, though most are with NASA or the Department of Defense.   

He added: 'My door at @USDOT is open to any and all patriotic developers or companies who want to help our country in this incredible, game-changing mission. I hope to hear from any company committed to ushering in America’s golden age of travel!'

Members of Elon Musk's SpaceX team were scheduled to meet Monday with officials from the Federal Aviation Administration to 'suggest improvements'

The meeting came the same day as yet another startling plane crash happened as a Delta passenger plane carrying 76 people crashed at Toronto's Pearson Airport on Monday

Duffy also said he's planned to go to the FAA Academy in Oklahoma to see the kind of training new air traffic controllers are receiving.  

DailyMail.com has reached out to the DOT and FAA for comment on whether Musk's team visit went ahead given the accident that occurred Monday. 

It comes at a precarious time for the FAA, as it like many other federal agencies are having the fat cut by Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, said the first emails were sent to probationary workers late on Friday night. 

He said hundreds had received notice that their employment was terminated. 

Since taking office in January, Trump and his sidekick Musk have rapidly shrunk the federal workforce to save money.

At times, however, their moves have backfired and raised public safety concerns. For example, the administration has had to move rapidly to rehire Energy Department staff after officials realized they were responsible for maintaining the nation's stockpiles of nuclear weapons.

On Thursday, the administration broadened its approach to target probationary employees, who have fewer protections. 

President Donald Trump has launched a huge round of cost-cutting staff reductions, but at times has had to reverse course amid safety warnings

An air traffic controller told the Associated Press that workers affected at the FAA included radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance. 

Spero said messages began arriving after 7 pm on Friday.

'We are troubled and disappointed by the administration’s decision to fire FAA probationary employees PASS represents without cause nor based on performance or conduct,' he said. 

'Several hundred employees have been impacted with messages being sent from an ‘exec order’ Microsoft email address, not an official .gov email address.' 

One FAA worker alleged he had been targeted because of comments he made about Musk's companies.

'Before I was fired, the official DOGE Facebook page started harassing me on my personal Facebook account after I criticized Tesla and Twitter,' Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander wrote on LinkedIn, describing how he was fired after midnight on Saturday.

'Less than a week later, I was fired, despite my position allegedly being exempted due to national security.'

The dismissals come at a critical time for the FAA, which already faced a shortage of controllers. 

For years, officials have warned that overworked and understaffed air traffic control systems were an accident waiting to happen. 

Last month, 67 people died in a crash between a US Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet.

The causes are still under investigation. But early reports revealed staffing levels were 'not normal,' and that a single controller was handling helicopter traffic as well as airline traffic at the airport.

Days later a medical jet crashed in Philadelphia killing all six people on board. 

Spero highlighted the human cost of firing so many people at a stroke. 

'These are not nameless, faceless bureaucrats. They are our family, friends and neighbors. They contribute to our communities,' he said.

'Many military veterans are among them. 

'It is shameful to toss aside dedicated public servants who have chosen to work on behalf of their fellow Americans.'