The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is continuing its campaign of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring by recruiting workers who suffer from a range of physical and mental disabilities. The FAA’s DEI push, which maintains that people with partial/full paralysis, dwarfism, psychiatric disabilities, and other handicaps need additional representation in aviation, comes amid accusations that declining safety standards and shoddy manufacturing are endangering passengers on a daily basis.
“Because diversity is so critical, FAA actively supports and engages in a variety of associations, programs, coalitions and initiatives to support and accommodate employees from diverse communities and backgrounds,” declares the FFA’s Diversity and Inclusion webpage, last updated in March 2022. “The mission of the FAA involves securing the skies of a diverse nation. It only makes sense that the workforce responsible for that mission reflects the nation that it serves.”
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To accomplish this goal, the FAA pledges its support to groups including FAA Pride (for LGBT employees), the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees, and the National Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees with Disabilities, among other special emphasis groups.
On the disabilities front, the administration states that “individuals with targeted or ‘severe’ disabilities are the most under-represented segment of the Federal workforce.” According to the website, “targeted” conditions include “hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism.”
Individuals meeting these criteria can be hired on the spot to fill vacancies across all FAA departments and are allowed to access accommodations to suit their needs. But in light of recent events, the implications these policies have for the efficacy and hiring standards of the FAA have generated significant criticism from concerned travelers.
The administration is already in the process of auditing Boeing’s line of 737 Max 9 jets, as well as the company’s parts manufacturers, after a near-catastrophic midair failure last week. As Valuetainment previously reported, an Alaska Airlines flight out of Portland suffered a fuselage blowout shortly after takeoff, forcing an emergency landing.
While the FAA focused its investigation on the faulty door plug produced by Boeing, others called attention to the company’s own DEI initiatives.
Related: Boeing Stock Tanks After Mid-Air Door Blowout on 737 Jet
However, given that these DEI standards are mirrored within both the FAA and the Department of Transportation that oversees it, it is unlikely that anything significant will be done to address the safety concerns of airline passengers.
“Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized DEI hiring over your safety?” tech billionaire Elon Musk wrote on X just after the door plug malfunction. “That is actually happening.”
Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized DEI hiring over your safety? That is actually happening. https://t.co/FcTyzZD0uW
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 10, 2024
The FAA, which is overseen by Secretary Pete Buttigieg, currently employs more than 45,000 people, including air traffic controllers and aviation safety inspectors.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer covering politics, culture, and business for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X (Twitter).
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