Althouse: "[T]he FAA under Trump in 2019 launched a program to hire controllers using the very criteria he decried at his news conference."

January 31, 2025

"[T]he FAA under Trump in 2019 launched a program to hire controllers using the very criteria he decried at his news conference."

"'FAA Provides Aviation Careers to People with Disabilities,' the agency announced on April 11, 2019.... The link under 'targeted disabilities' is now dead, but the Wayback Machine retains links from June 2017 and January 2021 that show the page was unchanged during Trump’s tenure. The list included: Hearing (total deafness in both ears), Vision (Blind), Missing Extremities, Partial Paralysis, Complete Paralysis, Epilepsy, Severe intellectual disability, Psychiatric disability, Dwarfism...."

Writes Glenn Kessler, awarding 4 Pinocchios, in "Trump launched air controller diversity program that he now decries/At news conference, Trump read a list of disabilities he calls disqualifying, but his administration started such hiring in 2019" (WaPo)(free-access link).

90 comments:

stutefish said...: Trump in 2016 was a very different president than Trump in 2024. He was a lot less prepared to take decisive action against the "deep state" (by whatever name). You can see the weaseling in how this story was presented. They want to make it seem like Trump ordered the FAA to do this back in 2019. It's much more likely that Trump was clueless about what the FAA was up to. And probably wouldn't have cared as much then anyway. He's a populist. DEI has become a much more charged topic in the past few years.; 1/31/25, 11:23 AM
rehajm said...: I can’t see but am I being invited to believe the group ‘people with disabilities’ is a diversity program equivalent to DEI programs based on race and sexuality?; 1/31/25, 11:23 AM
rehajm said...: If so I reject the premise…; 1/31/25, 11:24 AM
Freder Frederson said...: Why do reject the premise? Of course disability rights are a significant part of the DEI programs you hate so much.; 1/31/25, 11:27 AM
rhhardin said...: Hiring dwarfs has resulted in chair clutter in towers.; 1/31/25, 11:28 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: "Complete Paralysis"

I'm imaging myself writing a resume posing as a block of wood. Know I'm imaging getting an offer letter as the same block of wood...boy ChatGPT do I have one hell of an assignment for you!; 1/31/25, 11:29 AM
Dixcus said...: Joe Biden attempted to appoint a black man as head of the FAA. A black man who had no aviation experience. A black man who had never flown an aircraft. A black man who had never worked at an airline.

For 9 months, Biden and the Democrats attempted to push this wildly unprepared DEI hire, a wildly unintelligent and wildly inexperienced black person to head up the nation's Federal Aviation Administration.

That's how much they care about the lives of the flying public.; 1/31/25, 11:35 AM
Kevin said...: Trump claimed that he had changed Obama’s criteria for hiring air traffic controllers with greater diversity — when in fact he left it unchanged.

They make it seem that Trump reviewed the criteria and left them as is -- of which there is no proof. Trump clearly stated that he wanted the best people hired and Obama's leftover head of the FAA failed to take action on Trump's statements.

This is why you're seeing government-wide executive orders regarding DEI immediately signed as his second term begins, and a hunt for people who aren't making the required changes is underway.; 1/31/25, 11:36 AM
n.n said...: DEI is institutional, systemic Diversity (e.g. racism, sexism, etc.). Under Critical [Class] Theory, selection under DEI is suspect of Incompetence and probable hate crimes.; 1/31/25, 11:36 AM
Wince said...: Was Trump truly the impetus for a program that would put severely disabled people into air traffic controller positions?

Or was this standard EEO boilerplate adopted by the FAA pertaining to all agency employment, before the advent of true DEI extremism?; 1/31/25, 11:37 AM
tim maguire said...: I suppose as president, Trump has ultimate responsibility, but it's dishonest to call this his program. There is a 0.0% chance he know anything about it.; 1/31/25, 11:38 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Exactly- even progressives aren't insane enough to put deaf and/or blind people manning air traffic control screens, so it is 100% sure that those advertised qualities applied to jobs other than ATCs.; 1/31/25, 11:41 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: Trump started it, Biden turned on the crazy.; 1/31/25, 11:41 AM
Danno said...: Exactly Tim. Trump may be a very knowlegeable micromanager but he can't possibly know every detail in the executive branch.; 1/31/25, 11:42 AM
Enigma said...: The federal "Targeted Disabilities" program was the only permitted form of Affirmative Action for decades. It had general bipartisan support before Woke went mainstream. IIRC, they shifted from 8 to 12 medical conditions back then. The (once wildly political) EEOC published rules on January 3, 2017 (last minute Obama and a prelude to last minute Biden efforts)). Trump surely did not have a clue about this -- the TDS, lawfare, and his own screwups kept him fully occupied.

E.g.:
https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/questions-answers-eeocs-final-rule-affirmative-action-people-disabilities-federal; 1/31/25, 11:44 AM
n.n said...: DEI is Diversity (i.e. color judgment, class bigotry), not Disability. The racists, sexist, ageist (#HateLovesAbortion), classicists are politically congruent ("=") bigots hoisted by their Fani... petard.; 1/31/25, 11:46 AM
robother said...: By this logic, Trump was the source of all those Deep State leaks to the press that the Steele Dossier was true and being confirmed. And Nixon was Deep Throat.; 1/31/25, 11:46 AM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: Trump claimed that he had changed Obama’s criteria for hiring air traffic controllers with greater diversity — when in fact he left it unchanged.

Do they offer proof that Trump left it unchanged? Could it be that the FAA paid no attention to Trumps changes?; 1/31/25, 11:48 AM
Enigma said...: I always wondered about using this program to hire people in wheelchairs to work as skyscraper window washers. Things that make you go hmmmm...?; 1/31/25, 11:48 AM
stlcdr said...: EOs should be a last recourse, or essentially an emergency order used sparingly. This only works if you have adults in charge of the agencies.

Federal departments have been making up their own rules which do not serve the public.

Trump is not going to fall for this a second time, and neither should we.; 1/31/25, 11:48 AM
stlcdr said...: Noted that WaPo discussion isn't about the merits of the program, but just a 'get trump' article.; 1/31/25, 11:50 AM
n.n said...: Obama started it. Trump was distracted by two impeachments prosecuted by Democrats with misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation from domestic and foreign sources and probable national security risks.; 1/31/25, 11:53 AM
n.n said...: Not diversity (of individuals, minority of one), but rather Diversity (i.e. color judgment, class bigotry) favored by uncivil liberties corporations et al.; 1/31/25, 11:56 AM
Peachy said...: We all know deep down - that Trump personally wanted blind folks running the control towers. I read it on a leftist rag.; 1/31/25, 12:02 PM
Leland said...: FAA website: https://www.faa.gov/faq/faa-getting-rid-air-traffic-skills-biographical-assessment
Yes, in 2018 the Biographical Assessment was removed as a screening tool requiring all applicants to take the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA). All No Experience qualified candidates are required to take the ATSA as a pre-employment screening test.

What’s the Biographical Assessment?

Here is the FAA announcement: https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/acr/Extension_to_Barrier_Analysis_Report.pdf

Here are comments by Sen. Patty Murray in 2014: “The FAA has added a new test to screen candidates they call the biographical questionnaire. What I’m hearing from our CTI schools in my state, Washington State, that they’re very worried about their graduates, and I’m hearing from the graduates as well. One CTI graduate from Washington State graduated with high honors, passed an FAA test for initial qualification, has almost five years of service in the air force, and a commercial pilot certificate with an instrumental rating. That young man took this biographical questionnaire and failed it for reasons that are very unclear, and he’s not the only one in this situation. ”; 1/31/25, 12:02 PM
rrsafety said...: Not everyone at the FAA works in air traffic control. I think it is great for government particularly to find that roles within in an organization that can be done by individuals with severe disabilities and then hire the ones who can do that work. Otherwise, they are on government disability taking money anyway. That said, no quotas and no reduction of expectations.; 1/31/25, 12:04 PM
Jupiter said...: Glenn Kessler.; 1/31/25, 12:05 PM
n.n said...: Diversity goals are a double-edged scalpel in that they exclude qualified candidates by race, sex, etc., and understaff critical positions (e.g. firemen, air traffic controllers, etc.).; 1/31/25, 12:06 PM
Leland said...: So that was all 2018 and before, what’s that got to do with now? Here is the FAA in Jan 2022: https://x.com/FAANews/status/1481744002244386818
“ The language we use in aerospace matters. We've begun to adopt gender-neutral and inclusive aviation terminology as part of our agency-wide initiative. You can watch our Inclusive Language Summit at http://bit.ly/32ong5c. #equity”; 1/31/25, 12:10 PM
Leland said...: My brother-in-law lost one eye and most functionality with the other at birth. He works at the FAA in IT. He’s been there for over 20 years, fully capable of doing his job duties and shows up to work daily.; 1/31/25, 12:13 PM
Paul Zrimsek said...: That deaf, dumb, and blind kid sure works a mean Local Control.; 1/31/25, 12:20 PM
motorrad said...: Hey, you have to break a few eggs to make a diverse omelet. A few white shelled eggs.; 1/31/25, 12:21 PM
Paul Zrimsek said...: Live by the Unitary Executive, die by the Unitary Executive. The President has final authority over the Executive Branch because the President has final responsibility for the Executive Branch.; 1/31/25, 12:22 PM
Leland said...: Now let's look at what that 2019 FAA Announcement says:

Candidates for the Aviation Development Program must meet the following criteria:

United States citizenship
The qualification for Schedule A Direct Hiring Authority
Meet Office of Personnel Management ATC qualification standards
Pass Air Traffic Skills Assessment (AT-SA) Aptitude test
No more than 30 years of age
Pass a medical/security review
Be proficient in English
Education and/or work experience:
- three years of progressively responsible work experience or,
- a bachelor's degree or
- a combination of post-secondary education and work experience that totals three years.

Raise your hand if you believe someone with complete paralysis will pass a medical review, as Glenn Kessler suggests? Raise your hand if you believe someone with Severe intellectual disability will pass the Memory or Spatial and Visual Relationships parts of the ATSA, as Glenn Kessler suggests? Raise your hand if you think Dwarfism is a problem with passing any of those requirements, as Glenn Kessler suggests?; 1/31/25, 12:27 PM
gilbar said...: so, because the deep state ignored Trump.. We should ALL SUPPORT the deep state?; 1/31/25, 12:34 PM
Enigma said...: Yes, Wince, this was an uncontroversial federal program for decades and more symbolism than reality. People with severe (i.e., "targeted") disabilities struggle to work in any form, and this was thereby an empty gesture.

After losing the 2010 election, Obama minions tweaked all sorts of rules to achieve partisan objectives because they didn't have the votes to pass as law. The Deep State took over and the naive ends-justifies-the-means utopian Obama was all for it. They kept at it during Trump 45, as no one noticed or told them to stop. Hence, Trump 47's firmly worded Executive Orders today.; 1/31/25, 12:36 PM
gilbar said...: Freddy thinks we should be giving preferential hiring treatment to
Blind
Deaf
Mentally Retarded
and
Psychotic

people to be ATCs. YES Freedy, we HATE that,, Unlike You; 1/31/25, 12:36 PM
J Scott said...: I think we are at the point in this story were they are rubbing their hands and says "this TIME we finally got you Donnie!" Of course that isn't how the story ends.; 1/31/25, 12:38 PM
Earnest Prole said...: After watching multiple video and animated flight tracks of the crash as well as video from previous days showing how close military helicopters and commercial airliners travel in the Potomac corridor, a wild prediction:

The crash will have nothing to do with the FAA and air traffic controllers, and everything to do with military pilots training with night-vision equipment that limits peripheral vision.

But in lieu of definitive answers, do carry on with your culture-war priors.; 1/31/25, 12:42 PM
David53 said...: Glenn Kessler gave Trump 4 Pinocchios on the Charlottesville hoax. He's a tool.; 1/31/25, 12:48 PM
Gospace said...: Just a reminder- what is and isn't a disability is flexible- and some psychological problems in some jobs aren't problems...

The one big example I know of is the diagnosis of "On the spectrum" in the areas of what used to be diagnosed as "Asperger's syndrome", neither of which was a diagnosis, IIRC, in 1973 when I graduated from HS. The military for a short while wouldn't take people in who were diagnosed with either of those. Then quickly discovered that almost all their technicians were people "on the spectrum". And I imagine being "on the spectrum" in that manner would be a plus for ATCs.; 1/31/25, 12:49 PM
Sheridan said...: The way things are going at the WaPo Kessler will soon be alone providing editorials, reporting, opinions, advertising and fact checking. Heck, he'll even fact-check his own stuff. And he'll never find himself to be wrong in any way! What a gig!; 1/31/25, 12:51 PM
narciso said...: Those words you are using...; 1/31/25, 1:03 PM
Wince said...: While I take Earnest Prole's point on primary causation in this collision, disparate radio frequencies and tower staff issues may have impaired last minute evasive action.; 1/31/25, 1:07 PM
rhhardin said...: The crash was caused by a rule of procedure that was insufficiently thought through. The rule was the helicopter could verbally take responsibility for visual separation if approved by the controller. It's not an unusual responsibility. It's the same responsibility that pilots ordinarily have but just relieves the controller of having to figure out holding strategies for him.

But there's no failsafe to verify that the two have the same traffic in mind. As it happens, you cannot see (at night) an aircraft that you're on a collision course towards because its lights do not move relative to the ground as you see it, so the helicopter pilot is maintaining separation from some other traffic that he does see, and not the one that the controller has in mind.

That's a procedure mistake in the rules, nothing particularly having to do with the tower, aircrew, or anything else. You can't grant that request at night.; 1/31/25, 1:16 PM
Big Mike said...: In 2017 the FAA administrator was Michael Huerta, an Obama holdover. He was replaced in 2018 on an acting basis by Daniel Elwell and on a permanent basis in 2019 by Stephen Dickson. Shame upon Elwell and Dickson for not noticing the time bomb that the Obama holdover left behind. Elaine Chao, Mitch McConnell’s wife, was Secretary of Transportation during the first Trump administration, and needs to accept some blame as well. (Yet another reason to hate the old bastard.)

But I do have to wonder whether the hiring guidelines were specifically for aircraft controllers or were agency-wide. I don’t see why a one-armed or wheelchair-bound individual could not be a controller, but it’s hard to imagine how a blind person could read a radar screen or a deaf person (or someone with a severe speech impediment) could talk to pilots. However if the the stated preferences are meant to apply to agency-wide hiring, then I’m not prepared to state that there are no jobs that cannot be performed by profoundly handicapped individuals, even deaf or blind persons, and thus ADA regulations should apply.; 1/31/25, 1:21 PM
J Scott said...: The real story, which will emerge swampthinglike, like the Springfield story, is why did the FAA supposedly turn away thousands of qualified candidates when they have been experiencing staff shortages for years?; 1/31/25, 1:26 PM
Big Mike said...: Actually, Earnie, DEI did lead to the crash of the plane and helicopter at Reagan National Airport. One way DEI could have done that is if the controller on duty was under-qualified. That may or may not have been the case with this controller — certainly he made a mistake in not telling the helo pilot that the plane to avoid was at their 11 o’clock (left front) and was landing (so would be low over the river).

But another way DEI could have caused the crash is if the controllers are understaffed because the agency is looking for qualified people with the correct gender, ethnicity, or skin color while deliberately excluding well-qualified white males. There is ample evidence that this is the case. Literally thousands of white males have applied and been turned down, meanwhile the authorized staffing for that airport is 30 while the actual staffing is 19. And only a single controller was handling takeoffs (on runway 1), landings (on runway 33), and the helicopter (on a different frequency). The normal cruising speed of a Blackhawk is 174 mph and the landing speed for a CRJ700 is 135 knots (156 mph). The two aircraft could well have been approaching each other at a combined speed of something like 330 mph. No room for error, but errors were made.

Just because Trump said something doesn’t make it wrong.; 1/31/25, 1:28 PM
Temujin said...: Gain additional information, you learn and change your opinion about something. It became clear that blind people should probably not work at air traffic controllers. They can do any number of things, but not that.; 1/31/25, 2:03 PM
Bob Boyd said...: Are there any blind people working as air traffic controllers at the FAA?
I don't see why a practitioner of dwarfism couldn't be an air traffic controller.
Or some the other listed disabilities.
I can see a problem if you're dumber than a stump or crazier than a soup sandwich.; 1/31/25, 2:21 PM
Kylos said...: Professor, please check out this important report about corrupt FAA air traffic controller hiring practices.; 1/31/25, 2:35 PM
Candide said...: I agree with ‘Earnest Prole’ assessment and would even take it a step further. The helicopter deviated from the assigned flight path and was also flying too high at forbidden altitude. Given these facts all the efforts should be directed to investigate the helicopter activities. Incidents of Pilots deliberately causing suicidal crashes resulting in mass casualties did happen before. If there was a rogue helicopter intended to cause mayhem in the air space around DCA, air traffic control could do nothing about it. So the priority should be to investigate the helicopter.; 1/31/25, 2:36 PM
n.n said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/31/25, 2:39 PM
n.n said...: Disabilities do not result in equitable and inclusive deficits. Inferring limitations using Critical Retardation Theory (CRT) has long been discredited.; 1/31/25, 2:40 PM
Valentine Smith said...: I am curious as to whether or not they have eliminated the possibility that the helo pilot intended to crash into the plane.; 1/31/25, 2:43 PM
n.n said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/31/25, 2:54 PM
n.n said...: DEI (i.e. institutional, systemic class labels and judgments) becomes an issue as we observed in California fire risk management and response, Michigan municipal water poisoning, pandemic policies, immigration reform, East Palestine transportarion and contamination, hurricane destruction and disruption mitigation, university activism and assaults, national insurrections, planned parenthood, etc.; 1/31/25, 2:59 PM
chuck said...: Thanks @rhhardin for the informative comment. For the rest, we will have to wait on the investigation for better information.; 1/31/25, 3:04 PM
William said...: And we should believe ANYTHING Kessler says, why?; 1/31/25, 3:06 PM
James K said...: It sounds like this was done during the Trump administration, but not by Trump, if he even knew about it. Nor did it apply to ATC specifically. Aside from that, Kessler's right on the money. Can we give him 5 Pinocchios?; 1/31/25, 3:08 PM
Drago said...: This crash will most certainly involve failure to some degree on the part of the FAA and the ATC team in place at the time, along with leadership decisions leading to whatever personnel shortages, inadequate capabilities/training/rest of the tower personnel, etc.

These scenarios always involve multiple vectors for failure along the way. I speak from some direct experience with these matters due to a early military stint where I happened to be in the middle of a couple of these scenarios. One in particular was particular grievous involving a couple green team helos: https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2017/05/11/deadly-1996-training-collision-commemorated-still/; 1/31/25, 3:08 PM
n.n said...: The helicopter was operating outside of its assigned flight envelope. The ATC was aware of the deviation and at some point notified the pilot of the risk, if not impending airspace invasion of the landing passenger jet.; 1/31/25, 3:18 PM
n.n said...: Discerning qualification of disabled individuals through merit judgments is antithetical to DEI philosophy that discriminates through color judgments (e.g. Critical Racists' Theory) under Diversity (i.e. class-disordered ideologies).; 1/31/25, 3:23 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Video from different angle: Helo at the same altitude...

https://x.com/stillgray/status/1885300723845411162; 1/31/25, 3:34 PM
Enigma said...: Schedule A and Targeted Disabilities merely mean that disabled people can sometimes cut the line to be considered for hiring, not that they must be hired. In my experience, people with serious disabilities required constant support from another person (i.e., a 2x specialized salary). This meant a deaf manager had a sign-language knowledgeable "voice guy" in every meeting. This meant a blind employee had people escort him, drive him, write emails, write reports, and more, more, more.

I believe the deaf guy was a GS13 manager and fully capable of that work. The blind guy was a G13 in name only and performed as a GS5 at most.; 1/31/25, 3:58 PM
Enigma said...: The ATC role has mandatory retirement at age 56. It's a supremely time-sensitive position and it demands 100% accuracy. They must have quick and near-perfect cognition, and this starts to slip with most everyone after age 50.

Dwarfism and significant disfigurements -- likely fine, as long as the person is able to see and reach any required screens and devices. These could be modified probably.

The other disabilities are likely a hard no (outside the Obama and Biden administrations).

The federal disability form SF-256:
https://www.opm.gov/Forms/pdf_fill/sf256.pdf; 1/31/25, 4:08 PM
gadfly said...: The FAA said helicopter flights would be restricted but not completely suspended. There are exemptions for medical emergency flights, active law enforcement and air defense, or presidential transport missions that must operate in the restricted area.

So we can risk the lives of half a dozen fake Marine One copter pilots in and around DCA which go airborne when the President only flies from Joint Base Andrews which is directly east of the Potomac and the even closer to the White House. Perhaps Elmo can put his very Boring Company to work building a long tunnel eastward between the White House and Andrews.; 1/31/25, 4:17 PM
Ampersand said...: I'm just grateful that none of the helicopter crew were women, as I've had it up to here with the estrogen bashing.; 1/31/25, 4:19 PM
Leland said...: In regards to the helicopter flying outside the defined flight corridor; that is the type of problem that is the basis for why the NTSB doesn't immediately jump to conclusions. At a root level, the pilot-in-command of the helicopter flying under visual flight rules has the requirement to maintain separation from other aircraft. That same PIC is required to respect controlled airspace. At another level, the airspace is controlled, in this case, by the Tower. The Tower could notified the helicopter that is was off course and outside the defined flight corridor. The Tower could have ordered the helicopter to stop outside the extended centerline of the runway or to fly a heading that would have provided separation from the airliner. And based on accounts from 24 hours earlier, the airline pilot could have called mis-approached had it saw the potential flight safety issue. Those are the human issues.

Other issues that day was wind. How much did the wind factor into the helicopter deviating from the flight corridor? Another issue was the time of day for training. Was the pilot needing night proficiency? And if so, was that particular time of day the best time for the training? Living next to a major airport, I can tell you the number of flights decline sharply after 10pm. Could the US Army postponed training?

A question I've seen many times, why couldn't the helicopter pilot see the CRJ? Was there an issue with the NV googles? Are NV googles a good idea in that environment? Was there any issues with the recognition lights on the CRJ?

As the chair of the NTSB said, give them time to do their job.; 1/31/25, 4:23 PM
Drago said...: Technology illiterate gadfly, who embarrassed himself beyond all recognition during the first several Starship flights like you wouldn't believe (I recommend going back and reading gadfly's child-like scrawls to get a real appreciation for just how dumb this cat-lady soy boy is), is back to calling Elon Musk "elmo" and denigrating the greatest entrepreneurial set of business entities any entrepreneur has ever established.

Meanwhile, gadfly continues to do what he apparently does best, empty the litter boxes of his many cats in his basement while flinging the feces at the wall.

And what is with this "fake Marine One copter pilots"?

LOL

Just sitting in one of those choppers would make gadfly wet himself.....without the benefit of a dude-sized litter box.; 1/31/25, 4:26 PM
Rabel said...: The link Kessler provided to the 2019 FAA disability program shows that it was a pilot program to help prepare people with disabilities (20 individuals total) for careers in air traffic operations.

It was not a hiring program. Passing the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (AT-SA) Aptitude test and a medical review were among the requirements for entry into the prep program.

If he actually read the FAA announcement from 2019, then this is one of the most openly and intentionally dishonest things Kessler has ever written.; 1/31/25, 4:31 PM
The Godfather said...: What interests me as a VERY non-expert (but who used to fly in and out of National/Reagan Airport a lot), is that all commenters seem to agree that it would be a serious mistake to assign to ATC positions people whose conditions (say "handicaps" as shorthand) would interfere with their ability to perform their jobs. OK. Let's NOT do that. Let's not debate it, because we already all agree.
So the real question is, What handicaps should be disqualifying for which jobs?
And don't we all agree that jobs like air traffic control should require the highest scrutiny?
The anti-Trump commenters seem to think that in his previous administration, Trump wasn't tough enough in excluding applicants with disqualifying handicaps.
They also seem to think that Trump as the new President would be an anti-handicap bigot if he limited employment of handicapped candidates for ATC positions.; 1/31/25, 5:39 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: But maybe not for Air Traffic Controllers. Many on the Spectrum dot have a concentration problem, but rather a multitasking problem. And that is why I probably could have made it as a tech, but not a controller.; 1/31/25, 5:41 PM
n.n said...: the 2019 FAA disability program shows that it was a pilot program to help prepare people with disabilities (20 individuals total) for careers in air traffic operations.

It was not a hiring program. Passing the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (AT-SA) Aptitude test and a medical review were among the requirements for entry into the prep program.

Affirmative action done right.; 1/31/25, 5:42 PM
Hey Skipper said...: rhhardin: I may not have heard all the Tower transmissions, but I don't remember hearing a traffic callout from tower, along the lines of "Traffic two o'clock, two miles and closing, a hundred feet below."

That would have set off alarm bells.; 1/31/25, 5:51 PM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: 4 Pinocchios for Glenn Kessler, claiming that Trump was in control of the Federal Gov't in 2019.

If that were true, the =n Hunter Biden's laptop wouldn't have been covered up by the FBI when it was turned over in 2019; 1/31/25, 5:54 PM
JohnG said...: Race-based hiring of Air Traffic Controllers began during the Obama's administration, not Trump's according to an ongoing class action lawsuit. https://nypost.com/2025/01/31/us-news/faa-embroiled-in-lawsuit-alleging-it-turned-away-1000-applicants-based-on-race/; 1/31/25, 6:13 PM
Hey Skipper said...: @Leland: A question I've seen many times, why couldn't the helicopter pilot see the CRJ? Was there an issue with the NV googles? Are NV googles a good idea in that environment? Was there any issues with the recognition lights on the CRJ?

Going out on a bit of a limb here, but NV gogs operate in the IR spectrum. As do FLIR cameras on airliners that allow landing in 0-0 conditions.

The problem? LED lighting. As airports installed LED approach lighting for both maintenance and energy efficiency, emphasis in the latter. LEDs are so efficient that they radiate very little in the IR part of the spectrum (which has led to problems with LED traffic lights in snowy environments).

Airports aren't the only ones — aircraft manufacturers, also. Any airplane built in the last ten years has LED nav lights. They are very characteristic because not only are their colors purer, but they snap between on and off.

So LED nav lights are invisible to NV gogs. The fuselage would also be cold, having descended from cruise altitude, and the hot end of the engines were pointed away from the helo.; 1/31/25, 6:23 PM
chuck said...: Not impossible, but there are a lot of other possibilities, so I think we will just have to wait.; 1/31/25, 6:25 PM
Leland said...: Concur. There are light enhancing NV googles, but I don’t know what they had.. If it was IR NV googles, then that is the wrong equipment for the crew to be wearing in the flight environment. I also don’t know a good reason for them to be wearing them in that situation.

I heard a speculation that it was training for VIP evac. That seems like a poor reason to be flying in that congested location at that time. In the event of an actual emergency, they would clear the airspace to allow for the priority transport. No need to train in a busy airspace.; 1/31/25, 6:34 PM
bikerbob said...: I wonder about the banks that have Braille on the drive-up ATMs.; 1/31/25, 6:57 PM
Mr. T. said...: Isn't Kessler and Politfart the one who rated the Hatian illegal immigrant whipping hoax "mostly true?"; 1/31/25, 7:02 PM
Iman said...: Excellent point!!!; 1/31/25, 7:05 PM
Mason G said...: I saw an image of a "Pilot Lounge" sign with Braille online some time ago, don't remember where.; 1/31/25, 7:11 PM
Rusty said...: The more I read Freder's obvious failure to incorporate logic the more I realize a well trained chimp could do his public sector job.; 1/31/25, 7:20 PM
Rusty said...: Freder thinks so. He is comfortable in its bosom.; 1/31/25, 7:21 PM
Rusty said...: English is the language of aviation all over the world.; 1/31/25, 7:23 PM
jpg said...: There's a big difference in making job applicants with physical disabilities like parapalegia getting a shot at Air Traffic Control (Trump) work and disabilities like what the Biden bunch approved: psychosis, mental illness, anger problems and general nuttery. Sure, Glenn Kessler, that' what Trump approved. Sure. What a hack.; 1/31/25, 8:54 PM
Kakistocracy said...: Trump is saying that Biden hired a bunch of unqualified people for positions in the FAA, why should anyone fly in US airspace right now or buy a plane ticket?; 1/31/25, 9:05 PM
Kirk Parker said...: "English is the language of aviation all over the world"

Sure, for certain values of "English".; 1/31/25, 9:28 PM