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Trump is wrong about diversity and the DC plane crash

The President claimed that diversity hiring policies had lowered standards in aviation

Only hours after a deadly midair crash killed 67 people over the US capital, President Donald Trump was claiming that diversity initiatives and the Democrats were partly to blame for the disaster.

In what was the country’s deadliest midair crash since 2001, an American Airlines passenger plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport, sending both aircraft into the Potomac River.

Speaking from the White House on Thursday, Trump claimed, without providing evidence, that diversity and inclusion hiring policies had led to lower standards in aviation which were a factor in the crash.

“I put safety first. [Former president Barack] Obama, [Former president Joe] Biden and the Democrats put policy first,” he said. “They actually came out with a directive: ‘too white.’ And we want the people that are competent.”

Trump admitted he had no evidence to support his claims but was relying on “common sense”.

Federal investigators have stated that it is too soon to determine the cause of the crash or identify any contributing factors.

So what are the facts of the matter and the claims being made about the disaster?

U.S. Coast Guard, along with other search and rescue teams, operate near debris at the crash site in the Potomac River in a location given as Washington, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, U.S. January 30, 2025. Taylor Bacon/U.S. Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. REFILE - QUALITY REPEAT
The US Coast Guard, along with other search and rescue teams, operate near debris at the crash site in the Potomac River (Photo: Reuters)

Diversity initiatives lowered standards

Trump has made attacking Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programmes a hallmark of his presidency, signing an executive order terminating them in all federal agencies.

He claimed that before the start of his second term, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was “actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website.

“The FAA website states they include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism all qualified for the position of a controller of airplanes pouring into our country, pouring into a little spot, a little dot on the map, little runway.”

He appears to have been referring to the agency’s DEI policy, which has been in place for years, including during his first presidency.

In 2012 President Obama signed into law a bill directing the FAA to introduce a “diversity and inclusion strategic plan”, reaching out to under-represented groups such as women, ethnic minorities and disabled people.

However, air traffic control recruits still had to pass the air traffic selection and training test.

The fact-checking website Snopes reported that the language on the FAA’s website about recruiting workers with disabilities had remained unchanged since at least 2013, meaning it was present during the first Trump administration. The page has now been removed from the website.

In 2013, the FAA did introduce a “biographical assessment” to promote diversity, which placed more emphasis on , which applicants have claimed disadvantaged more skilled applicants in favour of less skilled minorities. However, in his first term Trump left it in place.

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - JANUARY 30: Emergency response teams including Washington, DC Fire and EMS, DC Police and others, respond to helicopter wreckage in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. An American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided with a helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Emergency response teams including Washington, DC respond to helicopter wreckage in the Potomac River (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Furthermore, under Trump’s first administration, in April 2019, the FAA announced a programme for 20 people with “targeted disabilities” to work in air traffic operations. Some of those disabilities included the disabilities that Trump listed.

The FAA has said that candidates in that programme would “receive the same rigorous consideration in terms of aptitude, medical and security qualifications as those individuals considered for a standard public opening for air traffic controller jobs,” and that those standards include a skills assessment test and a medical exam.

It emphasised that people with disabilities would not be hired for jobs for which they were not capable.

The FAA has defended its hiring policies, saying: “The FAA employs tens of thousands of people for a wide range of positions, from administrative roles to oversight and execution of critical safety functions.

“Like many large employers, the agency proactively seeks qualified candidates from as many sources as possible, all of whom must meet rigorous qualifications that of course will vary by position.”

Michael McCormick, a former FAA air traffic manager and associate professor in air traffic management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told CNN: “Only the best can go through the rigorous selection programme, the screening programme and then one-to-five-year training programme prior to receiving their certification.”

Diversity in the industry – the facts

Data shows that the vast majority of air traffic controllers and aviation workers are white males.

Some 78 per cent of air traffic controllers and airfield operations specialists are male, and 71 per cent are white (non-Hispanic), according to 2023 statistics from the US Census Bureau and IPUMS, while 22 per cent are women.

Data compiled by Deloitte and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that the proportion of white air traffic controllers fell from 79 per cent in 2020.

Annual FAA data shows minimal increases diversity across its entire workforce in recent years. It also shows that over the years, the hiring of people with disabilities has remained a minimal fraction of the total numbers.

According to a 2016 FAA annual report, 58.9 per cent of its workforce were white men and 0.7 per cent had targeted disabilities.

The numbers remained relatively similar in 2020, under Trump’s first term, with 57.4 per cent white males and 1.1 per cent people with targeted disability. In 2023, under Biden, the percentages were 55.3 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - JANUARY 30: Emergency response units assess airplane wreckage in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. An American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided with a helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Emergency response teams assess airplane wreckage in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport (Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Did staffing shortages play a role?

Some reports suggest that staffing shortages on the night of the accident may have contributed to the deadly crash.

An initial FAA report reviewed by The New York Times says the airport’s control tower was understaffed on the night of the disaster and that one controller was handling flights that are usually assigned to two people.

The air traffic controller who was handling helicopters was also directing planes that were arriving and departing.

FBI agents stand near debris, after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into Potomac River, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
FBI agents stand near debris, after a passenger plane and a Black Hawk helicopter collided while approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Staffing at the control tower was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic” the report states, according to The New York Times.

The shortage was presumably caused in part by frequent employee turnover and tight budgets, with many controllers forced to work extra days and longer hours, the outlet alleges.

Shortages in air traffic control have been known about for years, with a report revealing an increase in near-misses. In 2023, a New York Times found that “potentially dangerous incidents are occurring far more frequently than almost anyone realises – a sign of what many insiders describe as a safety net under mounting stress”.

Trump’s firing spree and hiring freeze

Democrats have taken aim Trump, accusing him of firing key people in the air safety sector after coming into power and instigating a federal hiring freeze.

He fired David Pekoske, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) administrator; Michael Whitaker, the administrator of the FAA under Biden; as well as all members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, a key aviation security advisory group.

He also began firing federal employees, leaving many vacancies across agencies, and requiring in-person work arrangements.

A previous division leader at the TSA warned that the effort to end remote work would lead to resignations and a loss of knowledge at the agency.

Democratic lawmakers say the freeze applies to air traffic controllers, although it is unclear to what extent.

Rick Larsen, the ranking member of the House committee on transportation and infrastructure, said: “Hiring air traffic controllers is the No 1 safety issue according to the entire aviation industry. Instead of working to improve aviation safety and lower costs for hardworking American families, the administration is choosing to spread bogus DEI claims to justify this decision.”



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