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airline industry
As Trump Blames DEI for Plane Crash, Report Shows Understaffed Air Traffic Control
One controller was doing the work of two people at the long-understaffed tower in the Washington, D.C. area.
Jan 30, 2025
A preliminary report on Wednesday night's crash involving a American Airlines commercial flight and a military helicopter revealed that the air traffic control tower in the vicinity of the accident was not staffed at "normal" levels, with just one controller handling a task that two employees ordinarily would have done in the high-stress job.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report on Thursday said the staffing at the time of the crash was "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic."
One controller was instructing helicopters near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport while also directing planes landing at and departing from the airport.
As The New York Timesreported, controllers use different radio frequencies to communicate with helicopter pilots and those flying planes.
"While the controller is communicating with pilots of the helicopter and the jet, the two sets of pilots may not be able to hear each other," according to the Times.
Air traffic controllers have been forced to work longer hours and workweeks in recent years, amid budget constraints and high turnover. In 2023, the tower near Washington, D.C. had 19 fully certified air traffic controllers. The FAA and the controllers' union say the optimal number is 30.
The FAA report was released shortly after President Donald Trump presented his own theory, without evidence, of why the crash that killed 67 people happened.
Trump suggested at a press briefing that under the Biden administration, the FAA had overseen a "diversity push" with a "focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities."
A reporter at the briefing asked whether Trump was saying the crash "was somehow caused and the result of diversity hiring" and called on him to offer evidence to support the claim.
"It just could have been," Trump said, adding that his administration has "a much higher standard than anybody else" for hiring federal employees.
Government Executive noted that the FAA began diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring programs as early as 2013, which continued under the first Trump administration.
No identifying information has been reported about the air traffic controller who was handling the flight paths in question on Wednesday. American Airlines has also not released any personal information about who was piloting its aircraft; Army officials said the helicopter was piloted by one man and one woman, and a male staff sergeant was also on board.
Trump told reporters that he was confident that DEI hiring practices played a role in the crash because he has "common sense."
But critics including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) noted that Trump has taken several steps since taking office less than two weeks ago that could make air travel more dangerous for Americans in the long term.
"Trump gutted the aviation safety committee last week," said the congresswoman, referring to the Aviation Security Advisory Committee. "Air traffic controllers—already understaffed—got Trump's 'buyout' this week with a one-week ultimatum to decide. It's not DEI—it's him."
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) also warned last week that Trump's federal hiring freeze could worsen understaffing among air traffic controllers.
"Hiring air traffic controllers is the number one safety issue according to the entire aviation industry," said Larsen at the time. "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. I'm not surprised by the president's dangerous and divisive actions, but the administration must reverse course."
On Thursday, Larsen offered condolences for the families of the victims in the crash, and cautioned against speculating "on the causes of aviation accidents before we have the facts and the details."
"However, I know it's not DEI because it never is," said Larsen. "The National Transportation Safety Board will look at the causes and contributing factors of this accident. It is important to let the NTSB complete its work before we consider any potential policy response."
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United Flight Attendants Vote 99.99% to Authorize Strike
"We have flight attendants who are struggling to make ends meet while our CEOs are on private jets," said one union leader. "We want some respect shown in the contract."
Aug 28, 2024
Hoping to leverage the looming Labor Day travel rush to secure better pay and working conditions, unionized United Airlines flight attendants on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike if management fails to meet their demands.
The United flight attendants—who are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA)—voted 99.99%, with 90.21% of members participating, to greenlight a work stoppage unless they win concessions including a double-digit raise, more schedule flexibility, improved work rules, job security, and retirement benefits.
"We deserve an industry-leading contract. Our strike vote shows we're ready to do whatever it takes to reach the contract we deserve," said Ken Diaz, president of the United chapter of AFA."We are the face of United Airlines and planes don't take off without us. As Labor Day travel begins, United management is reminded what's at stake if we don't get this done."
"The United management team gives themselves massive compensation increases while flight attendants struggle to pay basic bills," Diaz added."The 99.99% 'yes' vote is a clear reminder that we are unified in the fight against corporate greed and ready to fight for our fair share of the profits we create."
Kim Montgomery, who has been a flight attendant for 38 years and is president of the Council 6 chapter at AFA-CWA that represents workers based out of Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, toldThe Bergen Record that United "continues to make money hand over fist."
"Our leaders get pay raises regularly while some of us have not gotten a raise in years," she added. "We have flight attendants who are struggling to make ends meet while our CEOs are on private jets. We want some respect shown in the contract."
AFA said it can now seek to enter the 30-day "cooling-off" period required by the National Mediation Board (NMB) before the federal agency decides whether to allow a strike. Unlike unionized U.S. workers governed by the National Labor Relations Board, airline and rail workers fall under the jurisdiction of the NMB, which rarely grants permission to strike.
United AFA members staged picket marches at 20 U.S. airports on Tuesday after the union vote result was announced. Flight attendants chanted slogans including, "United Airlines, you're no good, pay your workers like you should," and, "Delay, delay, delay is not okay."
United Flight attendants—who have been working under an amendable contract for nearly three years—applied for federal mediation over eight months ago. AFA flight attendants from United and other airlines staged protest rallies at U.S. airports earlier this year to draw attention to their demands and to pressure management to act. Unionized United pilots also picketed for a better contract last year.
"We have not had a new contract since 2019, which means that we haven't had any raises since 2019," said one American Airlines AFA member in a More Perfect Unionvideo published last year. "We kept this airline running during a pandemic, and all we're asking for is fair wages. All we're asking for is quality of life improvements."
Last month, American Airlines flight attendants and company management agreed to a tentative contract that contains $4.2 billion in pay and benefits, including an immediate 18% raise and boarding pay, with some veteran workers in line for much higher increases.
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Crash Victims' Families Ask Judge to Toss 'Morally Reprehensible' Boeing Deal
"This sweetheart deal deceptively presents a version of Boeing's crime that conceals the fact that Boeing's lies to the FAA directly and proximately killed 346 people," said one attorney representing families.
Aug 01, 2024
Lawyers for families of the hundreds of victims killed in a pair of Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane crashes filed motions this week urging U.S. Judge Reed O'Connor to reject a "morally reprehensible" plea agreement and instead force the company to go to trial.
The Texas-based judge is considering a proposed deal, finalized by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last week, in which Boeing would plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about the safety of the aircraft involved in the Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash the next year.
Under the deal—which comes after the DOJ determined that Boeing breached its obligations under a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and federal prosecutors recommended criminal charges—the company would also pay a $243.6 million fine, invest $455 million in compliance and safety, and be subject to oversight by an independent monitor for three years.
"We urge Judge O'Connor to use his recognized authority to reject this inappropriate plea and set the matter for a public trial."
"This sweetheart deal deceptively presents a version of Boeing's crime that conceals the fact that Boeing's lies to the FAA directly and proximately killed 346 people," said Paul Cassell, an attorney for families and University of Utah law professor, in a Wednesday statement. "This plea deal is not in the public interest."
"It is deceptive and unfair," he added, "and we urge Judge O'Connor to use his recognized authority to reject this inappropriate plea and set the matter for a public trial, so that all the facts surrounding the case will be aired in a fair and open forum before a jury."
The filing from Cassell's team argues that the court should reject the "rotten deal" because:
- It destroys the court's ability to craft a fair and just sentence—and one that is perceived as fair and just by the public;
- The parties have "swallowed the gun" by hiding relevant facts about Boeing's culpability;
- It allows Boeing to escape accountability for directly and proximately causing 346 deaths;
- It surreptitiously exonerates Boeing's then-senior leadership;
- The $243 million fine is inadequate under the principles of sentencing;
- The compliance monitor provision is inadequate;
- The provision requiring Boeing to make new investments in compliance, quality, and safety programs is unenforceable and inadequate; and
- The restitution provision is misleading and unfairly allows Boeing to tie up restitution through extensive litigation and appeals.
"Whereas the DPA, was a 'sweetheart deal,' the plea bargain is a 'do-over,'" declared Chris Moore, a Canadian whose 24-year-old daughter Danielle was killed in the 2019 crash in Ethiopia. "The average citizen during criminal prosecutions doesn't get a 'do-over.' More to the point, my daughter didn't get a 'do-over,' which is why the DOJ should take justice seriously instead of bowing to the pressures of commerce."
Javier de Luis, who lost his sister Graziella in the same crash, said that "the ultimate aim of this agreement should be to ensure that the two 737 MAX crashes are never repeated. This agreement does nothing to achieve that objective."
Both de Luis and Catherine Berthet, whose daughter Camille also died in the 2019 crash, highlighted a January incident: A door plug flew off the Boeing 737 MAX 9 used for Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, causing minor injuries and forcing an emergency landing.
"Basically, this appalling door plug incident in January happened because, despite the constraints imposed by the DPA, nothing has changed at Boeing," Berthet said. "What will the plea deal change? Nothing."
"The only way to change Boeing is simply to apply justice," she added, arguing that Boeing, outgoing chief executive officer Dave Calhoun, and ex-CEO Dennis Muilenburg must be held "accountable for their actions and decisions by facing a jury at a trial."
"My daughter didn't get a 'do-over,' which is why the DOJ should take justice seriously instead of bowing to the pressures of commerce."
After announcing in March that Calhoun would voluntarily leave his post by the end of this year, Boeing revealed Wednesday that he will be replaced by Robert "Kelly" Ortberg of Rockwell Collins, who is set to start his new role on August 8.
"The arrival of a new CEO at Boeing could not have happened at a more crucial and necessary time for the safety of the traveling public around the world," said Robert A. Clifford, lead counsel for victims' families in pending civil litigation, in a Wednesday statement. "As a company, Boeing has been nosediving in self-destructive flight under the past leadership of Muilenburg, Calhoun, and the do-nothing board of directors."
"This move may give the company the ability to pull out of its impending total and fatal crash, unlike what occurred to the 346 innocent victims of the two Boeing 737 MAX 8 preventable disasters," he continued. "While this man is an industry insider, he does come from outside of Boeing and on the face of it has a well-regarded reputation in the industry. Maybe he can bring the company back to the stature it once held before it criminally and preventively killed 346 people."
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