FAA’s Diversity Policies Under Fire After Deadly Air Collision

[parallelman]

6 hours ago, parallelman said:

Certainly according to various outlets the airport seems to be one of the busiest. Just before the collision, one aircraft coming in to land while there is another taking off so the control tower and pilots seem expert enough. My questions would be; how often to military helicopters fly that route? If none, then what was that one doing there in the first place and what was the military helicopter port control instructions?

Just been looking at some news and the FAA said that the military do fly in the said region (and have been doing so for years) training for emergency situations. We'll have to wait for the BB analysis to find out what was going on.

[stevenl]

5 hours ago, mikebike said:

🤣 hilarious responses.

 

The biggest DEI hires in civil aviation are former military pilots. Yes, hiring veterans falls directly under DEI.

 

It's like most of you barf out DEI without having a clue about it 😔

The main DEI hire in the US is the commander in chief with his disability that prevents active service and age.

[Watawattana]

5 hours ago, novacova said:

A conflation of half truths concerning the implementation of DEI, so another pile of donkey💩 The United States already has equal protection laws on the books that protects individuals from discrimination based on looks opposed to merit. DEI is a warped system that brings protections to people based on looks as a primary, opposed to merit as a primary where only the best based on merit are hired no matter how they look or what other nonsense, anything less is bound to create problems, trainers are of course going to be under pressure to get the substandard hires through and will be more apt to expedite and dovetail the trainees in real world environments, but still the DEI hires are just that, in the mix there will be without a doubt, not the sharpest or the brightest in the bunch, just second and third tier to meet a quota. For one to come here and state that there’s a uniform code of standard in the federal government when there’s a non-merit based policy for hiring that blatantly conflicts with merit based is utterly oxymoronic and ridiculous.

Good grief! Where have you been hiding, legacy media land? Obviously you have missed the MASSIVE DEI scandal that was going on for the past four years and just got voted out!

So much politics, so little substance. Such a sad, deluded and uneducated person you are. 

[novacova]

6 minutes ago, Watawattana said:

So much politics, so little substance. Such a sad, deluded and uneducated person you are. 

Typical uneducated abject leftist, has nothing but mindless abject name calling. Quite silly and immature of you.

[Keep Right]

It seems that "Diversity" has killed in this incident:

 

https://www.wnd.com/2025/01/army-withholds-name-of-black-hawk-helicopter-crew-in-d-c-crash-2-others-identified/

 

A woman pilot says it all.

[connda]

17 hours ago, impulse said:

Here's a more disturbing revelation, if it's accurate, coming from a former ATC:

 

In the old days, before 2010, the immunity program, if an air traffic controller got two airplanes too close, too many times, it would be decertified and retrained,” Pearson said. “Now, they’re not. All they have to do within 48 hours of being noticed or being investigated for a potential separation error, they’re called operational errors in the FAA, the controller simply has to avail themselves of this program that gives them immunity.”

 

“The FAA cannot retrain these people. If somebody has a repetitive instance of malfeasance or lack of competency, the FAA, because of this immunity program, cannot rectify the situation. They have to basically allow the person to remain in the same position,” 

 

I can't help but wonder if they're protecting the incompetent because it impacts certain demographics more than others.  Like the Biden admin suing Sheetz (gas stations) for using a candidate's criminal record as a criterion for hiring them.  Literally because that affects protected demographics.  Ponder that one for a minute...  That's DEI for you.

 

‘Bowing To Wokeness Since 2010’: Fmr Air Traffic Controller Says Short Staffing Is ‘Attributable To Obama Admin’ | The Daily Caller

 

 

It's gonna change now....guaranteed!

[candide]

Gag!

 

Trans Black Hawk pilot forced to respond after she's falsely identified as D.C. crash captain

 

A transgender helicopter pilot was forced to respond after she was falsely identified as the captain of the Black Hawk that crashed in Washington, D.C.

Jo Ellis has served in the Virginia National Guard for 15 years and on Friday found herself the subject of thousands of false social media posts claiming that she was the third crew member aboard the helicopter that collided with the passenger jet, carrying 64 people.

She resorted to posting a “proof of life” vide

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/helicopter-pilot-jo-ellis-trans-black-hawk-dc-crash-b2690385.html

[alanrchase]

There seem to be some major misconceptions on how DEI hiring for ATC positions work. All ot does is help people get an initial foot in the door. After that they are subject to the same rigorous training that non DEI hires would be. No one goes straight from passing the training to a position in the tower at Regan International. 

The video below has the ATC and aircraft communications overlayed in real time on the flight track data. It appears to show that ATC did their job but for some reason the helicopter climbed 200 feet a moment before the crash.

 

 

[edwardflory]

""""Just please note that no airplane collisions and crashes like this happened while Biden was president."'''

 

So it's the fault of someones policies that's been in office LESS than ...30... days, and not the fault of a person's policies who was in office OVER ...1400...days?

YEA RIGHT!!!

[Watawattana]

9 hours ago, novacova said:

Typical uneducated abject leftist, has nothing but mindless abject name calling. Quite silly and immature of you.

Funny.  I'm actually a Trump supporter.  You're not a great character judge are you?  Nor have you read my posts...

 

😆😂😴

[metisdead]

A post trolling about a mythical medical condition has been removed.

[stevenl]

9 hours ago, Keep Right said:

It seems that "Diversity" has killed in this incident:

 

https://www.wnd.com/2025/01/army-withholds-name-of-black-hawk-helicopter-crew-in-d-c-crash-2-others-identified/

 

A woman pilot says it all.

Please don't fly anymore, before you know it the pilot could be female.

[Watawattana]

3 hours ago, alanrchase said:

There seem to be some major misconceptions on how DEI hiring for ATC positions work. All ot does is help people get an initial foot in the door. After that they are subject to the same rigorous training that non DEI hires would be. No one goes straight from passing the training to a position in the tower at Regan International. 

This is how it works in the USA, and every other normal country in the world.  I've worked in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia; it's no different.

 

The thing I don't really like is DEI folks getting priority over white folks due to quotas; that really has to stop, well done Trump for highlighting this.  But if a demographic is not applying then I've no issue with someone investigating 'why', and maybe that group being targeted to attract more applicants.   But the controller certification standard must never be reduced for anyone; too many lives depend on it.  Especially relevant if the ANSP recruitment targets are not being comfortably met or more controllers are needed to handle airspace changes or to mitigate traffic bottlenecks.

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

21 hours ago, Hamus Yaigh said:

Hang on a minute, wasn't there a Trump 1.0 administration in between the two you have cherry picked out that could have corrected matters back in 2017-2021?

Yes there was, and he was somewhat preoccupied with incompetent underlings like Bolton and Sessions, and with that fake Russian collusion fiasco etc.

 

If you want to blame someone, blame the Dems for not letting him get on with the important stuff.

[Watawattana]

9 hours ago, connda said:

It's gonna change now....guaranteed!

Yeah, it absolutely has to.  This wokery is crazy.

 

The "‘Bowing To Wokeness Since 2010’: Fmr Air Traffic Controller Says Short Staffing Is ‘Attributable To Obama Admin’ | The Daily Caller" reference is interesting insomuch as there's been a couple of presidents since Obama, and both failed to address that.  Maybe as the FAA Directors didn't have the strength to cry foul?  But, to be fair, Trump 2.0 is addressing it.  Better late than heads continuing to be buried in the sand.

 

A quick Google reveals "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the agency of the United States Department of Transportation responsible for the regulation and oversight of civil aviation within the U.S., as well as operation and development of the National Airspace System. Its primary mission is to ensure safety of civil aviation."

 

The FAA is very clearly failing in its duty and needs a massive shake up.

[thaibeachlovers]

14 hours ago, stevenl said:

The main DEI hire in the US is the commander in chief with his disability that prevents active service and age.

Utter nonsense. The POTUS is not subject to any policy during their campaign and the voters can vote for anyone they want that is standing.

 

As for active service, he's a bit over the age that will not happen, and the Commander in Chief does not presently have to lead the troops into battle.

 

IMO they should be required to lead the troops into any battle ordered by the POTUS ( along with all politicians voting for war ) as that would effectively end American wars.

[Watawattana]

5 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Yes there was, and he was somewhat preoccupied with incompetent underlings like Bolton and Sessions, and with that fake Russian collusion fiasco etc.

 

If you want to blame someone, blame the Dems for not letting him get on with the important stuff.

Yeah.  Trump 1.0 had a Secretary of Transportation who should have had their eye on that ball, should not all be blamed on Trump.  Biden had one of these too; obviously worse than Trump 1.0's pick.  But as I've just said elsewhere Trump 2.0 is now addressing it, fair play to him.

[thaibeachlovers]

33 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Please don't fly anymore, before you know it the pilot could be female.

Tell us why female pilots are not widely employed by major airlines then.

[Watawattana]

35 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Please don't fly anymore, before you know it the pilot could be female.

I'm usually happy to get behind a female pilot.  Doesn't necessarily have to be on an aircraft mind you... 🤭

[thaibeachlovers]

Just now, Watawattana said:

Yeah.  Trump 1.0 had a Secretary of Transportation who should have had their eye on that ball, should not all be blamed on Trump.  Biden had one of these too; obviously worse than Trump 1.0's pick.  But as I've just said elsewhere Trump 2.0 is now addressing it, fair play to him.

I'm constantly boggled by the mentality of posters that claim Trump should have fixed every problem facing the US by the day after his inauguration, and that Trump has to be involved in running every one of the thousands of government agencies in the US.

[Watawattana]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'm constantly boggled by the mentality of posters that claim Trump should have fixed every problem facing the US by the day after his inauguration, and that Trump has to be involved in running every one of the thousands of government agencies in the US.

Totally agree.

[Watawattana]

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Tell us why female pilots are not widely employed by major airlines then.

Is a good question.  I reckon piloting had historically been seen as a man's job before, during and after WWII, and the education/family systems have not really addressed that since.  It's generally the same in engineering.  On the flip side, there are jobs seen as women's jobs and men don't normally do them unless they are considered to be gay.

 

Some airlines are trying to target more women to be pilots.  Like controllers it might get more applicants, but doesn't automatically mean more female pilots as there's a standard that needs to be met that airlines and regulators will not compromise on.

 

I got a friend (female) who is a trainee pilot just now for a major asian airline.  She absolutely had to pass all of her exams and tests to the same standard as the men on her course.  No exceptions made.  This airline targets female recruitment (no, not quotas), but it isn't working that well as the social 'feeling' still exists that piloting isn't a woman's job.

[novacova]

1 hour ago, Watawattana said:

Funny.  I'm actually a Trump supporter.

To what degree are you able to support Trump besides verbally? & many liberals voted for and supported Trump

1 hour ago, Watawattana said:

You're not a great character judge are you?  Nor have you read my posts...

You posted “The training process 'should' weed out any controller not up to the job long before they talk to actual aircraft, and any live training should then further weed out anyone who is unable to jump from the training to the 'live' environment. This is why I believe the noise about DEI hires is bovine 💩.  If DEI hires were allowed to control despite not being good enough then that should be a MASSIVE national scandal.” 

Which comes from a lack of insight of American politics, left political tactics in particular which is commonly used to spite the conservative base even if it’s counter intuitive and brings actual harm to the public. My post argued your error of conflating that somehow DEI policies have no effect on US government safety standards, it made you uncomfortable and you responded with an insult indicative of a typical liberal leftist, so surely you must have had the foresight of what was to follow. 

Now, if you want to implement your education skills and tear apart my original reply with specificity of your post without losing composure, then have at it.

[stevenl]

49 minutes ago, Watawattana said:

Yeah, it absolutely has to.  This wokery is crazy.

 

The "‘Bowing To Wokeness Since 2010’: Fmr Air Traffic Controller Says Short Staffing Is ‘Attributable To Obama Admin’ | The Daily Caller" reference is interesting insomuch as there's been a couple of presidents since Obama, and both failed to address that.  Maybe as the FAA Directors didn't have the strength to cry foul?  But, to be fair, Trump 2.0 is addressing it.  Better late than heads continuing to be buried in the sand.

 

A quick Google reveals "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the agency of the United States Department of Transportation responsible for the regulation and oversight of civil aviation within the U.S., as well as operation and development of the National Airspace System. Its primary mission is to ensure safety of civil aviation."

 

The FAA is very clearly failing in its duty and needs a massive shake up.

Or maybe the opinion of 1 air traffic controller is not representative?

[stevenl]

47 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Tell us why female pilots are not widely employed by major airlines then.

Nothing to do with my post. Unless you want to claim standards are lower for female pilots.

[Watawattana]

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

Or maybe the opinion of 1 air traffic controller is not representative?

Yes, maybe.

[stevenl]

9 minutes ago, Watawattana said:

Yes, maybe.

You can leave out the 'maybe'.

[Bkk Brian]

Short staffing is not new nor are whistleblower complaints by air traffic controllers. This was an accident waiting to happen.

 

Air traffic controllers in the US have been warning about the impact of low staffing levels for years, submitting anonymous reports to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System. At least 10 reports submitted by controllers included concerns about staffing, work schedules or fatigue in the last year alone, the NASA database shows.

“We have been short staffed for too many years and it’s creating so many unsafe situations,” one controller in Southern California wrote last year, recounting how a small aircraft requesting assistance could not be helped due to workload issues. “The FAA has created an unsafe environment to work and for the flying public. The controllers’ mental health is deteriorating.”

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/31/us/air-traffic-control-staffing-nationwide-problem-invs/index.html

[alanrchase]

Thank God this DEI stupidity never happened on Trump's watch?

 

https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-provides-aviation-careers-people-disabilities

 

https://medium.com/faa/opening-doors-to-the-controller-workforce-d8d2ace46fa5

 

 

[billd766]

6 hours ago, stevenl said:

Please don't fly anymore, before you know it the pilot could be female.

It does not bother me in the slightest if the pilot or co-pilot is male or female, as long as that person is fully qualified on the aircraft type.

 

This is an AI overview

 

The number of female airline pilots is growing, but they still make up a small percentage of all airline pilots. 
United States: In 2022, 4.9% of airline pilots in the United States were women, which is an increase from 3.3% in 2002. 
Globally: Women make up between 4% and 6% of airline pilots. 
India: India has the highest percentage of female pilots in the world, with 15% of pilots being female. 
Explanation
The number of women with FAA student pilot certificates increased from 11.7% in 2002 to 15% in 2022. 
The number of women with FAA airline pilot certificates increased by 71% from 2002 to 2022. 
The number of women with licenses to fly commercial airliners increased by 45% from 2008 to 2022. 
Women airline pilots: numbers are growing, but still a pitiful ...
Jul 27, 2566 BE — There were 8,206 women holding FAA certificates as airline pilots in 2022 (as noted above, this was 4.9% of the tot...

CAPA - Centre for Aviation
Most airline pilots are men. Why aren’t there more women in the industry?
Apr 11, 2566 BE

The Dallas Morning News
Women airline pilot numbers stay low. Aspiration and career structures are ...
Aug 4, 2567 BE — Globally, women account for between 4% and 6% of airline pilots. The debate has moved on from unfounded questions of...

CAPA - Centre for Aviation
Show all
 

https://www.airwaysmag.com/legacy-posts/country-highest-female-pilots

 

DALLAS — For years, women have broken barriers and made an impact in occupations that were once deemed to be the sole domain of men. One such field is commercial aviation.

While the number of female pilots has been steadily growing over the past few decades, there are still fairly few women who hold Commercial Pilot Licenses (CPL) across the globe. According to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISA) 2021 study, less than 6% of pilots worldwide are women.

In the lead-up to International Women's Day, Air India (AI), Air India Express (IX), and AirAsia India (I5) have flown 90 all-woman crew flights since March 1. The number 90 was chosen in honor of the 90th anniversary of JRD Tata's first commercial flight, according to a statement released by the group.

There are some countries where the number of female commercial pilots is higher than others. India takes the top spot, with more than twice the global average of women pilots.

Today, we will scour the country with the highest number of female commercial pilots and explore what aspects contribute to this trend.

 

As per recent statistics, there are over 1,200 female pilots in India, and around 10% of them are commercial pilots.

This figure may not seem very high, but it is significant when compared to other countries. In the United States, only around 5% of commercial pilots are women, which is less than the international average.

 

There is more information in the link/