The Trump Administration Officially Kills
DEI at the FAA

Excellent. We need THE most competent people keeping the airways safe.

Strongly agree that DEI (Didn't Earn It) has NO place in hiring, especially in safety-critical positions. However, my understanding is that the airliner pilots were not at fault in the named collision. I agree that the FAA "issued a mandatory "Operations Specification" that forces every commercial airline to commit to merit-based hiring for pilots." is the right thing to do, but it would not have made any difference here. My understanding is that the main causes of this particular crash were: 1) A dangerous design of designated flight paths, with a low-level helicopter flight path at 200-ft above ground level passing below the airport final approach flight path, where airliners on the correct approach path are at what- 400- to 500-ft altitude, clearing each other by what.... 200 to 300 feet- if EVERYTHING is 'perfect'. 2) The helicopter pilots -conducting a training flight at night, were using night-vision equipment that greatly limited the field of view of both the pilot undergoing training and the instructor pilot. They could not see the approaching airliner coming in from their left side. 3) Misunderstanding verbal communication - I think with one radio transmission partly blocking another transmission- just prior to the crash. The controller was trying to warn the helicopter pilots of the approaching airliner, but the helicopter pilots likely thought that the controller was telling them about a different airliner, one that had already crossed the chopper's flight path, 4) The helicopter pilot flying at -or perhaps just climbing to- 400 feet above ground level, rather than remaining at the required 200 feet, which put them at a collision height with the airliner. 5) The airliner pilots at that point are looking at the runway, doing their final line-up for touchdown. It would be very difficult for them to pick out the lights of the helicopter coming in from their right side, particularly as the chopper was below them, and it's lights would blend in with the myriad of lights on the ground. I'm a private pilot and I have driven boats on the Potomac River -in daylight and at night- in the vicinity right where the crash happened. Flying at 200-feet (the Potomac river is tidal at that point, 'above sea level' and 'above ground level' altitudes are nearly the same at that location)... at night, in an urban location with who-knows-what kind of towers and antennas sticking up (I believe that towers less than 200-ft are not required to have anticollision lights) and who-knows-what kind of of visual 'ground clutter' from both stationary and moving vehicle lights..... is just crazy dangerous. Also having two aircraft having an intended intersection with just 200-ft vertical separation- is again just crazy dangerous, even in daylight clear-blue-sky conditions. Given the overall situation, it is a wonder that there have not already been many crashes at that location. It would be easy to scream 'DEI' and blame the lady pilot who was receiving the training, but in my opinion they had her flying into a near death-trap.

My pilot grandson thanks you Mr. President.

Thanks for a good explanation, #2. For us who stick to the ground this would be like running a Formula 1 race over on the 495 Beltway at rush hour.

You are missing something here, #2. Consider this. I served as a flight surgeon's assistant, USAF, 956-1964, and part of my duties included providing medical care, physical examinations, and the like, to flight crew members. Young pilots were totally immersed and focused on flying. Totally. And I suspect the Army pilots are no different than the Air Force variety. In the case of the Wrong Way Corragin girl army pilot, airliner crasher, she did not enter Army ROTC until her final semester of her senior year, and instead of focusing on flying, the White House brought her on as some sort of White House escort, relegating her flying duties to part time/secondary. This was a bad set of decisions, but in the end, the proximate cause of the collision was pilot error.

Number 2 gives a great explanation for the accident but forgets that the pilot of the helicopter was an unqualified woman.

You would think that Pete Bootyjudge would prefer cockpit to flight deck.

It's too late. Many DEI people have been moved up to hiring positions and even though they will not be using a written DEI policy to hire and promote people they will be making the same decisions because that is what they have been trained to do their whole life. It's just like at my last place of employment the company brought in several thousand H-1B Indian immigrants to replace us Americans who were already doing those jobs. The H-1Bs got paid 1/3 our wage. But then the company promoted some of those Indians to management positions and they only hired Indians. And they also fired the rest of the Americans. So saying they are no longer going to hire according to DEI is only a start. Management needs to be cleaned out.