FAA Rejected Qualified Controllers

The disturbing rise in near misses at our nation’s airports is no accident. A class-action lawsuit by the Mountain States Legal Foundation has amassed a trove of documents shedding new light on an Obama-era Federal Aviation Administration initiative that rejected prospective air traffic controllers based solely on their race. 

A 2013 FAA document, “Controller Hiring by the Numbers,” raised the issue in stark terms, asking, “How much of a change in job performance is acceptable to achieve what diversity goals?”

When failure is measured in human blood, the answer should have been none.

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Brigida v. U.S. Department of Transportation

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Biographical Questions Forced Top ATC Candidates Out of FAA Hiring Pool

“The number of different high school sports I participated in.”
“The age at which I first started to earn money (other than an allowance).”
Strange questions to ask would-be air traffic controllers. Yet those questions and others were ones the Federal Aviation Administration asked potential air traffic controllers to answer as part of a new hiring system in 2013.

Fight Escalates Over Race-Based Hiring Program at the FAA

The job of an air traffic controller is among the most challenging and important jobs in the nation. It requires intelligence, skill, and aptitude. The critical decisions made by air traffic controllers directly impact the safety of millions of air travelers. People who do this vital job hold people’s lives in their hands.

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Since 1977, MSLF has fought to protect private property rights, individual liberties, and economic freedom. MSLF is a nonprofit public interest legal foundation. We represent clients pro bono and receive no government funding. Make your 100% tax deductible contribution today and join the fight.

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