FAA Report Highlights Staffing Issues Amid Reagan National Midair Collision

News Discussion
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Thanks Aviatrexx, unfortunately my comment was flagged.

"My deepest sympathies are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives in this tragic midair collision. May they Rest in Peace. We owe it to them, and every traveler who relies on aviation safeguards, to demand a thorough investigation free from political interference.

If the present admin stays out of the NTSB’s work, we should get a fact-based report explaining what went wrong and why. The strength of that report will depend on how deeply they investigate, how honest they are about mistakes, and whether the truth is allowed to stand without political interference clouding it.

Dragging DEI into this tragedy is manipulative and sickening. Blaming diversity hiring is absurd—there’s no evidence DEI had any bearing on the accident. Suggesting otherwise insults grieving families and dodges critical questions, like why ATC was chronically understaffed and why this problem was allowed to fester. Watch closely—now that the heat is on, staffing will probably get a sudden boost, just to improve optics. We’ve seen this play before.

The NTSB must stay focused on the facts and block out political distractions. Their job is to find what failed and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Anything less dishonors the lives lost, and we can’t allow that."

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See, it is these types of comments that really do not help in anyway for a discussion.

Calling a pilot or controller “a DEI” implies that that person was hired based - at least partially - on filling a quota. And if that was the case, and if I was one of “those families”, I’d care very much.

What does that mean “if”. Okay, how does one go about winnowing out the “DEI” from the what “merit based” employee? Your comment rings of that wonder time in our country when folks in power could say “well if he was a communist he should be arrested” and whoops, off to the hooskow without a trial, or facts, or evidence…just innuendo and “common sense”. I thought we as a soceity grew up from that, but apparently strong is cool with the knowing glance, the “well he looks DEI”.

We certainly don’t know the “color” of the controllers skin, but OMG, what if it was white male, in his 40/50s and what “if” he voted for the President; now do we question the “merit” or look somewhere else.

To become a pilot, to become an Air traffic Controller you must, Must pass a rigorous set of tests and meet a certain level of standards. If you are even Orange skinned you have to pass those standards so in what world does gender or skin or ethnicity matter?

Mike Wallis uses selective posting to try and bolster this notion that “DEI” is at fault, but leaves out the meat of that allegation:

lobby group that operates within the FAA supplied answers to a controversial “biographical questionnaire” to members of its organization who were about to take the test.

Note that this was not about taking a final exam, but a questionnaire who’s purpose is:

The BQ, as it’s called, is now the initial screening device used by the FAA to determine which applicants are accepted into the initial phase of training at the FAA’s air traffic control academy in Oklahoma City.

Read this for a more detailed explination of what that was all about.

Yes, it was wrong for an employee to help people cheat, but the exception is not the rule and we cannot cherry pick just to fit a flase narrative.

To have the President of this country state, out loud, that DEI was the issue; that is not just disrespectful to the dead and their families, but casting a shadow over the ATC and the controller with nothing but bad thinking. Do we say the pilot of the helo was DEI as well? The two pilots in the cockpit? They all must be DEI since the president just says blanket statements and some folks just vomit it back up.

I can tell that what ever truth could be revealed in an investigation will now be sullied by this type of thinking, and an administration showing no empathy at all. I fear the next person fired will be the NTSB chairman because the investigators may be (gasp) DEI so we can’t trust what they find and the new lackey will deliver to the administartion exactly what they want to hear.

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No, I’m not implying that DEI groups are inherently inferior. But I will assert that if DEI goals are part of the hiring consideration, then other elements - including talent - have to be somehow ‘balanced out’.

Discrimination - of whatever sort - almost always hurts the best qualified applicants. And it is the best of the best that I want to see hired - regardless of their DEI status.

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No, I’m not implying that DEI groups are inherently inferior

Yes. Yes you are because your very next sentence “implies” just that.

the D in DEI stands for Diversity. That’s all. Certainly not discrimination which you also seem to imply.

I am going out on a limb and guess you may be a white male at some age older then young. I would doubt you’ve ever felt or experienced true hardship in trying to achieve something based soley on your exterior. I bet you never got turned down for a job, because you are a black man or a woman. I doubt you’ve ever faced humiliations in a job or been overlooked for a promotion because of how you look even if you were the better performer.

You (and others) talk about things should be “merit” based, so okay, merit based is passing a test. here’s a problem, some closet racist asshat picking people to take that test points to white guy after white guy after white guy, but pretty soon he runs out of white guys so “oops”, make we help the border line white guys because we need bodies and there goes your merit.

Maybe that black man rejected was top in his class, had an amazing work ethic, but you’d never find out because closet rascist turned him away.

Merit. God do you not remember that in WWII, blacks were for the most part kept out of flying, but thre Tuskgee airmen certainly had the “merit” and if it had not been for “woke” general that allowed that group, how many more bombers woudl have been shot down.

Do you not remember that women flying were curiosities and most men dismissed them as real aviators…until WWII when WASPS flew bombers and fighers over to the front lines so men could fly them into battle. Hell it took till 1973 to get a woman airline pilot and since then they have shown equal capability.

Here is what I get from you when you talk about discrimination coming from a white man. A white male, black male, and female all take the same test. The white man fails and the first thing out of his mouth would most likely be “you discriminated against me because I am white”. No, because you did not merit passing the test.

the D is diversity and what I can tell you is the PPL certification test does not give a S#$T you’re gender, color, or belief. I think that follows for every other FAA exam so please, just stop with diversity dilutes distinction.

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Hiring the “best of the best” doesn’t get sacrificed under DEI; it gets expanded to include those who were systematically pushed aside before. It’s about ensuring that potential, not privilege, is the deciding factor.

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And therein lies the lie.

DEI does not mandate “goals” that applicants must meet. It mandates that federal agencies NOT discriminate based on a number of factors that have historically been used TO discriminate. Those agencies are expected to have selection criteria appropriate to the position being filled, and to select the best candidate based on those criteria. But if a federal agency’s applicant pool turns out to be primarily white males between 20 and 30 years old, DEI says they need to take a look at their recruitment efforts to make sure they are getting a representative sample of the American population. You know, make it fair…

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Maybe the people commenting here should dump the politics and consider the technical facts concerning the recent accident when they are known. This incident is going to be analyzed at every level both by military authorities and by the NTSB. The results may, or may not implicate FAA hiring practices or ATC staffing. Why engage in political fighting when the facts are not yet known?

I love Trump and you hate Trump. So what? What is important is to determine the true cause or causes of this terrible incident so that aviation will be safer.

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If the FAA ATO is approx. 3k controllers short, spurred on by the pandemic staffing and funding cuts, why would it implement DEI preferential hiring practices to further exacerbate the recruiting shortage?

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The site is in the water.
You literally can’t “visit the site” unless you go swimming.
POTHUS is already in DC so it did seem like a really dumb question for a reporter to as.

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Yes, get your hands wet and dirty.

But first you’ll have to have tetanus vaccination and training in diving and …

:-o)

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Raf, EVERYTHING should be on the table table here.
Investigate everything. “If” DEI played a factor, we need to know. If that hiring practice did not play a role; let that come out to. That’s how you be fair and honest. Let the chips fall where they may because people are tired of BS.

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Aviatrexx, your comment about “Congress-critters is spot on. The only reason this airport is open is because Congress told the Secret Service no when they wanted to close it for security reasons. With all the prohibited airspace there and the intense mix of airline and military traffic, this has been an accident waiting to happen no matter the amount of controllers on duty. I always avoid airlining into DCA along with avoiding doing any trips to DCA. That airport is not worth dealing with, with all the security and airspace restriction nonsense. It is time to close DCA permanently before another tragic occurrence happens.

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Because it was the politically correct thing to do, especially if you the manager want to keep your job.
There have been report via AvWeb on questionnaires and worse.

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Media are often ______, and seeking air time.

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You contradict yourself.
DEI assumes managers are not being objective - that would be a leadership problem.

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DEI, by definition, means considering race and sex when hiring.
DEI therefore is illegal in the USA under the 1964 Civil Rights act.
Q.E.D.

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You contradict yourself by setting a goal.

What goal do you want for each type of job?
50% male for nursing? Not achievable.
50% where night shifts are required? A challenge.

Your way has the fundamental problem that many people will assume that a person got their job from reverse discrimination based on a collective category, not because they truly qualify - that impedes them getting a different type of job.

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Boy has this topic gone off the rails in a big way.

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But what margin for error is acceptable?
There are factors that lead to errors.

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Ayup, it’s social media.

(Ducking Russ’ swing. :wink: