By MELISSA GOLDIN, ALI SWENSON and ALEXANDRA OLSON
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump wasted little time this week trying to assign blame for the nation’s deadliest air disaster in more than two decades. Among his chief targets: An FAA diversity hiring initiative he suggested had undermined the agency’s effectiveness.
“But certainly for an air traffic controller, we want the brightest, the smartest, the sharpest. We want somebody that’s psychologically superior,” Trump said at a news conference Thursday.
No evidence has emerged that rules seeking to diversify the FAA played any role in the collision Wednesday between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.
Nevertheless, Trump’s comments drew attention to the agency’s attempts to address its most pressing and long-standing problem — a persistent shortage of air traffic controllers who are critical to keeping the nation’s skies safe.
How has Trump tied diversity hiring to the collision?
Trump is using this week’s disaster as another opportunity to push back against diversity programs, after signing executive orders that banned such initiatives across the federal government. That included one specifically for the secretary of transportation and the federal aviation administrator.
During the White House press briefing, Trump said the FAA diversity program allowed for hiring people with hearing and vision issues, as well as paralysis, epilepsy and “dwarfism.”
“The FAA is 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,” he said.
The FAA’s own data shows people with such disabilities make up only a tiny fraction of air traffic controllers. And there is no indication that investigators into the crash are focused on diversity hiring or staffers with disabilities.
Later Thursday, Trump doubled down on his criticism by signing a presidential memorandum on aviation safety he said would undo “damage” done to federal agencies by the Biden administration’s diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Are FAA diversity initiatives part of the investigation?
Asked Thursday about Trump’s comments, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said her team examines all factors in any investigation, “the human, the machine and the environment.” She said that means looking at the people involved, the aircraft and the environment in which they were operating.
“That is standard,” she said.
Trump’s remarks drew strong rebukes from Democrats and civil rights leaders.
“There are still bodies being pulled from the Potomac River. Families are grieving the loss of loved ones. Yet Donald Trump is baselessly blaming DEI for last night’s tragic collision,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat who lost both legs while flying Black Hawk helicopters in the Iraq War, referring to diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
“Absolutely shameful,” Duckworth said on the X social media platform.
Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Marine veteran, was blunt in his response to Trump’s remarks. “DEI did not cause this tragedy,” he said on X.
Groups representing disabled workers issued a joint statement saying they were dismayed by the scapegoating, noting that anyone hired under the FAA’s diversity initiative had to meet its stringent qualifications.
“The implication that people are being hired to do a job for which they are unqualified is an unfounded lie that further reinforces harmful stereotypes against disabled people,” it said.
What’s behind the FAA’s recruitment strategy?
The FAA has long-faced a shortage of air traffic controllers, which was compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. Homendy told a Senate panel in 2023 that a surge in close calls between planes at U.S. airports that year was a “clear warning sign” the aviation system was stressed.
The FAA’s diversity efforts aren’t new and were not started under the Biden administration.
Before Trump removed them from the agency’s website after taking office this month, they had been promoted since at least 2013, including during Trump’s first term. Similar language seeking candidates with disabilities was on the site during both Biden’s term and Trump’s first term. Disabilities identified for special emphasis in hiring included conditions such as paralysis, epilepsy or missing extremities.
The FAA during Trump’s first term launched a pilot program to prepare people with disabilities for jobs in air traffic operations.
A 2019 announcement detailed a program to enroll up to 20 people with targeted disabilities in up to a year of training at air traffic control centers, with the potential to be appointed to a temporary position at the FAA’s academy. It noted candidates were subject to the same rigorous standards for aptitude, medical and security qualifications as any other candidates. A federal report from 2023 describes the qualifications.
What do aviation experts say about the FAA’s recruitment program?
The FAA says its Aviation Development Program for hiring diverse candidates into “mission critical occupations” required them to meet the same qualifications as any other applicant.
Former FAA administrator Michael Whitaker said last year that the FAA seeks qualified candidates from a range of sources who must “meet rigorous qualifications” that vary by position.
Paul Hanges, a professor of industrial and organizational psychology at the University of Maryland, helped compile a report for the FAA in 2013 documenting barriers for women and minorities. The agency followed up by hiring a consulting firm to find the root causes, which led to changes in the testing and hiring process — but Hanges said that did not lower hiring standards.
“It was the same kind of protocol, the same cognitive test, but a different version of it,” he said. “One thing I know about the FAA is they take public safety very seriously. So I’d be surprised that they systematically did stuff that would have put the flying public in danger. I always got the impression that was job one.”
He called Trump’s assertion that this week’s crash is related to diversity efforts “an illogical leap.”
“It is something that is consistent with his message, but we don’t have the data,” he said.
How have the FAA’s recruitment efforts worked?
The agency’s recruitment programs have resulted in a modest deepening of its workforce diversity over the years. Progress has been especially slow in roles it considers “mission critical,” including air traffic controllers.
The FAA’s overall workforce of more than 44,000 employees remains predominately male, according to a 2023 FAA report on the status of its Equal Employment Opportunity program.
Among its nearly 18,000 air traffic controllers, more than 80% were men. White men constituted the biggest percentage of air traffic controllers at 64%, the report said.
The FAA’s overall workforce also remained predominately white, with racial minorities making up 30% of its employees.
About 2% of the FAA’s overall workforce are people with more severe disabilities. Among air traffic controllers, less than 1% are people with such disabilities.
The claims that diversity efforts factored into this week’s crash come after Trump surrogates blamed other recent crises, including the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles, on diversity, equity and inclusion policies, although there has been no evidence to support that.
It’s a focus that has generated anger among those who feel Trump and his allies are quick to use horrific disasters to further their political agenda.
Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin specifically called out Trump for quickly pointing the finger this week at the FAA’s diversity programs: “The American people deserve real answers, not narcissistic speculations.”
Associated Press writers Graham Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma, Wyatte-Grantham-Philips in New York, Haleluya Hadero in South Bend, Indiana, Angeliki Kastanis in Los Angeles and Claire Savage in Chicago contributed to this report.