Government ‘diversity’ initiatives causing major airline disaster
Imagine a Government Job with Absurd Hiring Practices
Here’s a thought experiment. Imagine one of your buddies comes up to you with a big smile on his face and tells you he just got a brand-new job. He’s vague on the specifics, but he says it’s a federal government gig that pays six figures. It didn’t require any kind of bachelor or associate degree, or a physical fitness test. But your friend does tell you that, as part of the application process, he had to complete a couple of computer exams.
Then, as the conversation goes on, your friend recounts a few of the questions from one of those exams. He tells you the questions went something like this: “Would more classmates remember you as humble or dominant? What age did you first start making money? How many high school sports did you participate in?”
At this point, you’re thinking to yourself, this is a little odd. What kind of job would ask questions like this? This all sounds kind of dumb and unserious. So your friend reassures you that he had to complete a second test as well. This second test asked slightly more challenging questions, like, “What’s the difference between the numbers 8 and 6?” If you answered “2,” then congratulations, you could also pass this test.
Guess the Job
Now, at this point, if you had to guess what job your friend just landed, what guess would you make? Based on all of the information provided, and knowing this is a government job, what would you think? Well, you’d probably make some obvious assumptions right away. You’d think, at a minimum, that whatever job your friend is gunning for in the federal government, it can’t be that important. And, indeed, there are a lot of very unimportant jobs in the federal government. Jobs that were made for incompetent and unimpressive people. Maybe your friend got a gig in the Department of Education, for example, or the IRS. That would make sense.
But then imagine that your friend informs you that he is not working in some frivolous government agency that contributes nothing of value to humanity. Imagine he tells you that, in act, he applied to be an air traffic controller. And after just a few months of training, very soon, he’s probably going to be directing planes with hundreds of people onboard. This may be a hypothetical thought experiment, but it is very much grounded in reality. I didn’t make up any of the test questions I mentioned earlier. They’re all based on real air traffic control exams or practice exams.
Now ten years ago, this little hypothetical scenario would’ve been unthinkable. But everything changed very quickly in 2013, when the Obama administration embarked on a plan to diversify the ranks of air traffic controllers. Obama’s FAA chief announced that he intended to “transform” the agency, which includes air traffic control, into a, “more diverse” workplace. As part of that plan, air traffic controllers no longer needed to take a more demanding cognitive assessment before being hired. Instead, all they needed was a high school diploma and the ability to speak English. All of the tests were dumbed down to the point of being absurd.
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The result, over the past decade, has been exactly what you’d expect. The number of air traffic controllers who are not white men has significantly increased, according to the FAA. Coincidentally, so have the number of near-collisions involving commercial airlines. According to a database maintained by NASA, which relies on data self-reported by pilots, the number of “near misses” has more than doubled over the past ten years.
In just the past year, there have been more than 300 near misses involving commercial airlines, averaging more than five per week. Just to emphasize that point again: they diversified the FAA, and near-misses immediately doubled. Correlation does not prove causation, but it can point towards it. And in this case there is a giant, glowing sign pointing in that direction.
Of course, only a handful of these incidents receive any major media attention. So it’s easy to underestimate the scale of the problem, no matter what media outlets or social media platforms you frequent. That’s why, in a moment I’m going to go through some of the near-misses that have gotten very little coverage.
But I’ll start with an incident that did get some attention from the national news media, because it helps put the broader problem into some context. This incident happened in July, when air traffic controllers put two aircraft — an Allegiant air passenger plane and a Gulfstream jet — on a collision course, shortly after the Allegiant plane took off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Watch:
The report goes on to mention that the pilot’s last-minute evasive maneuver was so extreme that it sent one flight attendant to the hospital.
If there’s anything reassuring in this clip — something that might make you feel a little better if you, like me, plan on boarding a plane in the near future — it’s that automated software called “TCAS” saved the day. This is a system that relies on transponders that are installed on all domestic aircraft. As you heard, it’s capable of sounding an alarm in the cockpit, and directing planes away from one another if there’s a risk of an imminent collision. It’s a failsafe for when air traffic controllers mess up and command planes to fly into one another.
But TCAS isn’t perfect. It certainly doesn’t prevent all mid-air collisions. In 2002, for example, a passenger jet and a DHL cargo plane collided over Germany, because one pilot followed TCAS while another listened to the Swiss air traffic controller — who, incidentally, was later murdered by a surviving family member of several passengers. In fact, just this year, TCAS failed to prevent a mid-air collision at an international airport in this country — Houston Hobby. Fortunately, and miraculously, no one died as a result of that collision, but it was very close to being disastrous.
Mid-Air Collisions: A Growing Concern
It’s a terrifying thought – two planes hurtling towards each other in mid-air, with potentially catastrophic consequences. And yet, recent incidents have shown that these near-misses are happening more frequently than we’d like to admit.
Take, for example, the incident at Portland International Airport, where an Alaska Airlines jet narrowly avoided colliding with a Skywest airliner. The air traffic controllers failed to notice the impending disaster until the planes were dangerously close. Similar incidents have occurred at San Diego International Airport and JFK airport in New York City, highlighting the alarming frequency of these near-misses.
What’s even more concerning is that the failsafe systems in place, such as the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), are not foolproof. They are not designed to handle situations where planes are close to the ground and moving rapidly in close proximity to each other. In these cases, things can happen too quickly for the system to respond.
Videos of these near misses can be found on YouTube, showcasing just how close we’ve come to disaster. But why are these incidents happening more frequently?
The Staffing Crunch and Diversity Efforts
One factor contributing to the rise in near-misses is the staffing crunch in air traffic control. When Ronald Reagan fired over 10,000 air traffic controllers in 1981, new controllers had to be hired. Now, many of those controllers have reached retirement age, creating a shortage of experienced personnel.
Unfortunately, instead of incentivizing competent individuals to become air traffic controllers through better training, higher salaries, and improved working conditions, the government chose to lower standards in the name of diversity and equity. This decision has had serious consequences for air safety.
The Biden administration continues to support these diversity efforts, proudly stating on the FAA’s website that the workforce should reflect the nation it serves. However, when it comes to preventing catastrophic accidents, diversity should not be the primary focus. The racial makeup of the workforce is irrelevant to passengers who just want to arrive safely at their destination.
The FAA’s recent “Be ATC” campaign, aimed at diversifying the ranks of air traffic controllers, raises concerns about prioritizing qualities other than competence in hiring decisions. While it’s important to promote diversity, it should not come at the expense of air safety.
Every week, we are reminded of the limitations of the current crop of air traffic controllers. Near-misses continue to occur, and it’s unclear whether the efforts to diversify the workforce will address this critical issue.
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It’s important to note that while airlines are striving to increase diversity in their ranks, there are still significant challenges to overcome. United Airlines made a commitment to diversify its pilots a few years ago, and other airlines have followed suit. However, the issue of diversity extends beyond the cockpit. We need diverse air traffic controllers guiding diverse airline pilots to ensure the safety of thousands of lives. Unfortunately, many lives are lost before meaningful change occurs.
Aviation experts often say that major improvements are only made after significant tragedies. This thought may not ease your flying anxiety, but it holds true throughout aviation history. Wind shear detectors were not implemented until commercial airliners started crashing in bad weather near runways. TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) became mandatory after numerous mid-air collisions. Pilots were not required to de-ice their planes until an Air Florida aircraft crashed into the Potomac River after sitting on the snowy tarmac for too long.
What this means is that, based on historical patterns, we may finally see some solutions to the current air traffic control crisis across the country. From Portland to San Diego, New Orleans to New York, and every major metropolitan area in between, the situation is reaching a critical point. While this may pose challenges to the Biden administration’s equity agenda, it also brings us closer than ever to a potential disaster of unprecedented magnitude. Unfortunately, it often takes a significant loss of life before action is taken to address the problem.
What steps should be taken to address the issue of decreasing air safety and prioritize the qualifications of air traffic controllers
Conclusion
The government’s decision to lower hiring standards for air traffic controllers in the name of diversity and equity has had serious consequences for air safety. The increasing number of near-misses involving commercial airlines is a direct result of the absurd hiring practices implemented by the Obama administration in 2013. Instead of prioritizing competence, the focus has shifted towards promoting diversity within the workforce. While diversity is important, it should never come at the expense of air safety. The alarming frequency of near-misses highlights the limitations of the current crop of air traffic controllers. It is imperative that we address this issue and prioritize the qualifications and training of air traffic controllers to ensure the safety of passengers.
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