Yes. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reportedly answered “Hell, yes” when asked in an NBC Nightly News interview whether pilots should lose their licenses if they make a mistake. The remarks followed a runway incursion at Chicago Midway, but they were not an FAA revocation order—and the incident was still under investigation in the reporting available at the time.
What did Sean Duffy say about pilots losing their licenses?
Simple Flying reported on March 1, 2025, that Duffy gave the “Hell, yes” answer during an NBC Nightly News interview. The report also quoted a post by Duffy after the Midway incident: “imperative that pilots follow the instructions of air traffic controllers. If they do not, their licenses will be pulled.” These were Duffy’s public statements, not a formal FAA decision to revoke a particular pilot’s certificate. Simple Flying’s report reproduced the remarks.
In discussing several recent aviation incidents, Duffy was also quoted as saying that “a majority of the errors probably go to the pilots,” while qualifying that view: “not all of them, and again, not exclusively, not 100%.” That was his assessment, not an investigative finding about the cause of any specific accident.
What incident prompted the remarks?
The report connected Duffy’s comments to a runway incursion at Chicago Midway involving a Flexjet Bombardier Challenger 350 and a Southwest Boeing 737-800. The business jet crossed the runway as the Southwest aircraft was landing. The Southwest crew went around, then landed safely; the report said there were no injuries. Simple Flying’s account said the NTSB was investigating.
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At that stage, investigators had not reached a final conclusion about fault. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy was quoted saying investigators needed to collect evidence from the cockpit and air traffic control, including the Flexjet cockpit voice and flight data recorders and the Southwest flight data recorder. An aircraft crossing a runway during an approach is a serious event, but the available account does not establish what each person knew, what instructions were given or how the event occurred.
Can a pilot lose a license after an accident?
A pilot can face certificate action in circumstances covered by applicable law or FAA enforcement policy, but the cited authorities do not establish a blanket rule that any mistake or accident automatically means revocation. An accident, a possible operational error and a regulatory violation are related questions, not interchangeable findings. The responsible authority must apply the relevant legal basis to the facts.
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For example, 49 U.S.C. § 44724 requires revocation when the specified statutory finding is made in a narrow set of circumstances involving a pilot in command allowing an individual without required credentials to manipulate aircraft controls during certain record-setting or aeronautical competition flights. It is an example of a defined revocation requirement, not a general accident-fault rule.
The FAA also describes a prompt settlement policy for certain first-time drug and alcohol testing violations. Under the policy, participating pilots receive an emergency revocation order and surrender relevant certificates; the FAA page says they generally cannot apply for a new Part 61 airman certificate for one year from the order. This is a distinct policy for defined testing violations, not a penalty stated for ordinary pilot error. The FAA page was last updated May 12, 2023, so its current terms should be checked before relying on them. FAA: Emergency orders and prompt settlement policy.
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Who decides whether a pilot was at fault?
Public comments by a cabinet secretary do not determine the outcome of an investigation or themselves revoke an FAA certificate. Investigators examine evidence to establish what happened; certificate enforcement is a separate formal action under applicable FAA authority. The Midway reporting described evidence collection as ongoing, so it did not support treating Duffy’s view about pilot responsibility as a final finding on that event.
A later enforcement case illustrates why the conduct and legal basis matter. In a June 11, 2026 report, the DOT Inspector General described a fatal 2022 instructional-flight crash involving a pilot who had surrendered his commercial certificate after failing a re-examination flight and then continued giving instruction without a valid certificate. The case involved alleged concealment and obstruction, and the court imposed criminal penalties. It concerned unlicensed flying and related conduct, not a general rule that an accident or mistake leads to license loss. DOT Inspector General report.
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What this means for the Midway incident
The careful answer is that Duffy publicly endorsed license loss for pilots who make mistakes and said licenses would be pulled if pilots did not follow controllers’ instructions. But those statements were not a formal FAA action, and the report described the NTSB investigation as unfinished. Whether a pilot is held responsible—and what consequence, if any, follows—depends on evidence and the applicable legal or enforcement process, not the headline alone.
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