Posted on 04/26/2024 3:38:59 PM PDT by george76
Some aviation experts argue the FAA’s focus on ‘diversity’ instead of ’merit' in hiring pilots and controllers is leading to serious safety concerns...
As the U.S. Justice Department decides whether to pursue a criminal case against Boeing, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating dozens of airplane incidents since January, including one in which a Swiss Air jet almost collided with four other planes on the runway at JFK International Airport in New York City.
The FAA has more than 100 aviation accidents and incidents since the beginning of 2024. These include airplane and helicopter crashes, equipment and mechanical malfunctions, and communication breakdowns with air traffic controllers that almost caused runway collisions at several major U.S. airports.
These incidents come as public scrutiny of Boeing increases after multiple issues have been reported with their jets. After an Alaskan Airways flight experienced a mid-air blowout of a door plug on Jan. 5, the Justice Department is considering revoking a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement with the company and pursuing a criminal ..
There is also growing criticism of Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the FAA’s hiring practices after multiple near-collisions were reported, including at JFK Airport and Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.
The JFK incident occurred on April 17. Pilots on a Swiss Air flight headed to Zurich, Switzerland, were forced to hit the brakes after the plane was cleared for takeoff because air traffic controllers simultaneously opened the runway for four other planes.
The next day, a similar incident played out at Reagan Washington National Airport, which services the Washington area. ATC cleared a JetBlue flight for takeoff as a Southwest Airlines flight was told to taxi across the same runway in front of it, according to ATC audio..
A runway controller cleared the JetBlue flight, while a taxiing controller cleared the Southwest Airlines flight. The two planes came within 400 feet of a collision before each controller ordered the planes to stop.
“JetBlue 1554 stop! 1554 stop!” said the tower controller, as the ground controller said “2937 stop!” to the Southwest Airlines plane.
Since sudden runway stops can overheat airplane brakes, the JetBlue flight was inspected before it safely departed the airport.
...
ATC incidents are “on the rise.”..
He said the “primary driver” of this phenomenon is the “huge turnover” in the industry, as controllers retired during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many retired early, creating a “big shortage of people, pilots, and air traffic controllers,” and some, including pilots and others, retired due to vaccine mandates.
However, other factors leading to ATC communication breakdowns include diversity-focused hiring practices, a bottleneck in controller training, distractions, and pilot error.
...
Diversity Hiring Practices..
Many, including aviation expert Kyle Bailey, have called out the FAA for prioritizing “diversity” in its hiring practices, alleging that hiring pilots or controllers based on their skin instead of their merit, can lead to safety issues.
Diversity really has nothing to do with safe travel...
The aviation agency’s “Diversity and Inclusion webpage, last updated on March 23, 2022, says, ”Diversity is integral to achieving the FAA’s mission of ensuring safe and efficient travel across our nation and beyond.”
...
In February, a coalition of 11 Republican attorneys general, led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, submitted a letter to the FAA alleging that diversity hiring practices could put passengers’ lives at risk. “It seems that the FAA has placed ‘diversity bean counting over safety and expertise, and we worry that such misordered priorities could be catastrophic for American travelers, Mr. Kobach wrote in the letter.
“Millions of Americans place their lives and the lives of their loved ones in the hands of your agency ... Unfortunately, the Biden FAA, under your administration, appears to prioritize virtue-signaling ‘diversity efforts over aviation expertise. And this calls into question the agency’s commitment to safety, he added.
The letter accused the Obama administration of seeking out applicants with “severe intellectual” and “psychiatric” disabilities, noting that the FAA’s “Diversity and Inclusion” webpage currently has the same language on it.
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Retirements and Training ‘Bottleneck’..
Another factor leading to issues with ATC is the sheer volume of retirements in the aviation industry
...
some pilots and air traffic controllers were close to retirement age when the pandemic started, with many deciding to retire early. This created a shortage of applicants and now a shortage of active workers, as both the FAA and ATC struggled to keep up when a waning pandemic caused airline travel demand to increase.
“So we got a lot of new folks out there on the job right now, a lot of on-the-job training going on right now. And a lot of mistakes being made up there as well,” he said.
Some also retired early because they declined to take the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine when it was briefly mandated by the FAA
...
FAA is trying to do more with less.”
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Distractions, Infrastructure, Budget Issues..
As a Boeing 777 pilot, Mr. Browne mostly flies overseas. When he flies into cities like London or Sydney, he says the radio channels through ATC are “a lot less chaotic” and more “organized” compared to the United States. “Here in the States, we’re pushing so much material, so many aircraft through such a tight system and dealing with weather constantly,” he explained.
“And yet, there seems to be a lot of miscommunications between different members of the staff, for example, ground controllers versus tower controllers.”
...
It was a miscommunication between ground and tower controllers that resulted in the near-collision at Reagan Washington National Airport on April 18.
Mr. Browne said he often hears a lot of background noise coming over the radio from within the control towers. Pilots are instructed to maintain a “sterile cockpit” whenever they’re below 10,000 feet, he explained. That means pilots must refrain from any conversation outside plane operations until they reach that altitude to “avoid distractions.”
“Is that not the case with the ATC?” Mr. Browne asked.
He explained that working in ATC can be a boring job, so it’s “human nature to get distracted, to do something else to break the monotony,” even if it’s critical to avoid this to prevent putting passengers’ lives at risk.
COVID-19(84) still destroying or nearly destroying
Thanks, Fauci, you scummy jerk
(Some also retired early because they declined to take the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine when it was briefly mandated by the FAA)
COVID-19(84) was an excellent dry run for the coming Mark of the Beast
What do near misses have to do with Boeing? Boeing doesn’t run air traffic controllers.
The media are so stupid, all they know are themes.
I predict we are going to start seeing major aviation mishaps with loss of life.
And it won’t be due to the DEI engineers at Boeing.
It is going to be flight crew, ATC and maintenance related. Due to the lowering of standards and the infusion of poorly trained people into the workforce.
“What’s your Vector Victor”?
Go DEI and DIE.
I noticed in the article they used the term “near-collision” instead of “near-miss”.
I think it must be “The Carlin Effect”....
“Here’s a phrase that apparently the airlines simply made up: ‘near miss’. They say that if 2 planes almost collide, it’s a ‘near miss’. Bullsh, my friend. It’s a near hit! A collision is a near miss.
[WHAM! CRUNCH!]
“Look, they nearly missed!”
“Yes, but not quite.”
Precisely. Stupidity rules.
Remember that Boeing is a big defense contractor and see Tagline for explanation.
Merit?
They don’t want no stinkin’ merit.
Will there be more or fewer airline crashes in 2024 compared to those in 2014, 2004, 1994, 1984, or 1974?
Blame Booty Judge.
He heads the Department of Transportation.
He is a major failure like Mayorkas.
5.56mm
Trump One may go down its one of my fears
Pilot in midflight: I can’t really fly. I cheated on exams and plagiarized my essays and got in because they had a racial quota. You take over.
Co Pilot: I did the same thing. I wish I had gone to some of the classes instead of paying the guy to go using my name. I wish I knew how to fly.
Pilot: See if anyone back there didn’t eat fish for dinner.
Heard one had the door suddenly blow open and fly off and it caused the plane to veer off, avoiding collision after the 2nd plane’s wheel and housing fell off causing it to wobble in flight. The two averted a disaster by the two problems canceling each other out.
🛫🛬🛫🛬
It will soon be a DEMOLITION DERBY both on the ground and in the air. But one thing for sure, it will scare the crap out of the flying public and likely put an end to non-essential air travel, which is one of the HIGHEST PRIORITIES of the Left (right up there with 15 minute cities and outlawing meat).
Ha. Both made it safely home for once.
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/5dd9300a-24d5-4900-8880-b85b8d1572c9
“Is This: ‘Part of the greenie weenies’ fight/sabotage against our humanity?
Ron White - near plane crash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH-LmkLFJg0
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