The Truth About the Federal Aviation Administration and DEI

Almost immediately after his inauguration, Trump began essentially dismantling several government agencies which have varying degrees of aviation safety, some more and some less.

He fired the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard before their terms are up and eliminated all the members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee. He fired 100 top Federal Aviation Administration security officers and froze the hiring of all Air Traffic Controllers, even though there is already a shortage of tower controllers.

The Aviation Security Advisory Committee will technically continue to exist but it won’t have any members to carry out the work of examining safety issues at airlines and airports. TSA Administrator David Pekoske was fired even though he was originally appointed by Trump during his first term.

Firing Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, the head of the Coast Guard, was a serious blow to that agency. Under her leadership, the Coast Guard interdicted over $2.5 billion in illegal drugs in 2024

On Wednesday January 29, a military helicopter collided with a commercial airliner at Reagan National Airport, killing 67 people. Then on Friday, January 31, a medical transport jet crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood. 7 were killed and 19 injured.

Keep it real; these crashes were not Trump’s fault. A few days wasn’t enough time for the firings to effect air safety. However, going forward, aviation safety standards will begin declining, and it will become increasingly risky to fly.

Trump’s lunacy grows by the day. He blamed the crashes on Barack Obama, Joe Biden, the Democratic Party, Pete Buttigieg, the 2020 election and DEI.

Then, the day AFTER the air crash, the Trump administration sent an email to Federal employees, INCLUDING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS, urging them to resign and find a job in the private sector. This, in spite of the fact that there is already a shortage of Air Traffic Controllers.

Listening to Trump, you might get the impression that the towers were manned by mentally feeble people with a variety of physical disabilities. So how does DEI relate to the Federal Aviation Administration?

First, take a look at the types of jobs that are needed at the FAA.

Program Managers, Engineers, Safety Inspectors, Technicians, Electricians, Fire Fighters, Physicians, Security & Haz Mat Specialists, just to name a few. Don’t forget the Weather analysts who interpret data, reports, maps, photographs, or charts to predict long- or short-range weather conditions, using computer models and knowledge of climate theory, physics, and mathematics.

What about all those disabled people Trump is harping on? Hundreds of office workers are needed to keep everything running smoothly, and even janitors and groundskeepers! Many of the low skill jobs can be done by disabled people, which helps keep them off public assistance. Not to say that all office jobs are done by the disabled. Many office jobs need highly skilled workers.

Is someone in a wheelchair or missing a limb automatically disqualified to perform an administrative function?

Those control towers that Trump is fixated on are only a small segment of the FAA. What does it take to qualify to be an Air Traffic Controller? Individuals must meet the following minimum qualifications in order to be eligible to continue through the hiring process to become an Air Traffic Controller:

• Be a United States citizen
• Be under the age of 31
• Pass a medical examination
• Pass a security investigation
• Pass the FAA air traffic pre-employment tests, including the Air Traffic Controller Specialists Skills Assessment Battery (ATSA)
• Speak English clearly enough to be understood over communications equipment
• Have 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

Many applicants can’t pass the medical evaluation. Candidates must be physically and mentally fit and meet high standards for vision, hearing, cardiovascular, neurological and psychiatric health. Any physical or mental impairment disqualifies the candidate!

Those who qualify medically are just getting started. They must pass the Air Traffic Skills Assessment, an entry-level employment-selection test battery which evaluates the required critical knowledge, skills, abilities, and other personal characteristics, to help the FAA determine the candidates best qualified for an Air Traffic Control position.

But wait! Not there yet! Less than 10% of all applicants meet all of the above requirements to be accepted into the years-long training program.

Entry-level applicants who didn’t get screened out must complete required training courses and spend several months at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. After graduating the academy, individuals are placed in locations across the country and must gain 2-3 years additional training, both classroom and on-the-job experience, before becoming a certified professional controller. This rigorous training includes close supervision and evaluation by senior controllers that ensures controllers are competent, professional, know their airspace environment and can deal with the pressures and high pace of the job.

Making it all the way through to entering the academy is still no guarantee! About 50% of aspiring Air Force controllers fail out and don’t get the job after all.

By now you should understand there is zero truth to what Trump has said about the skill level of Air Traffic Controllers.

That’s par for the course. Trump doesn’t tell the truth about much of anything.