Elon Musk says he’s sending Starlink tech to FAA while saying, without evidence, that air safety is ‘at risk’

Elon Musk said Thursday that he’s sending his Starlink satellite internet terminals to the Federal Aviation Administration while saying, without providing evidence, that current technology poses a risk to air travel safety. The billionaire and top advisor to President Donald Trump, who has been tasked with cutting costs throughout the federal government, posted the claims on his social media platform, X. Executives at major airlines told CNBC on Thursday that they do not see risks to air travel safety because of the FAA’s technology. The FAA, which regulates Musk’s company SpaceX, didn’t immediately comment but earlier this week said it has been testing Starlink technology in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and in Alaska. The White House referred a request for comment to the FAA. The FAA “has been considering the use of Starlink since the prior administration to increase reliability at remote sites, including in Alaska,” the agency said Monday. “This week, the FAA is testing one terminal at its facility in Atlantic City and two terminals at non-safety critical sites in Alaska.” The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the FAA is close to canceling a contract with Verizon for new communication technology for air traffic control and giving it instead to Musk’s Starlink. Musk said Thursday on X: a “Verizon communication system to air traffic control is breaking down very rapidly.” Verizon said in a statement that “the FAA systems currently in place are run by L3Harris and not Verizon.” He later corrected himself and said that L3Harris is responsible for the “rapidly declining” system. <br/>