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It’s bad enough that university and even medical school admissions emphasize race/ethnicity over achievement, now comes news that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does that as well. The difference is that by prioritizing “diversity” over competence in the selection of air traffic controllers, the FAA is endangering public safety.
Appearing on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” last Friday, June 1, 2018, aviation attorney Michael Pearson said just that — that the Federal Aviation Administration puts diversity ahead of public safety with its hiring practices for air traffic controllers, in order to favor black applicants.
According to his LinkedIn page, Michael Pearson:
“is a partner with Curry, Pearson & Wooten PLC. His practice is devoted largely to complex litigation including aviation accidents, aviation regulation, severe personal injury, wrongful death, commercial litigation and defamation matters. In addition, he often consults with clients regarding Federal Aviation Regulation compliance. Michael is one of Arizona’s Finest Lawyers, AV rated, is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and has achieved the highest rating possible by ‘AVVO.’ He has also been honored by the National Trial Lawyers Association and named as one of the ‘Top 100 Trial Attorneys’ throughout the entire state of Arizona and has been selected by his peers as a ‘SuperLawyer.’
Michael teaches aviation law and regulation classes at Arizona State University and is the author of ‘Foundations of Aviation Law’ a textbook used in graduate and undergraduate courses.”
A former air traffic controller himself, Pearson is representing a man who is suing the FAA for its dangerous “diversity” hiring practices.
The interview began with this introduction by Carlson:
Every day, more than 2.5 million Americans fly in or out of US airports, along with, of course, many billions of dollars of cargo. At any one time, there are about 5,000 aircraft above the United States.
On 9/11, for example, air traffic controllers guided every one of them to a safe landing in a little over an hour. Go ahead and try that.
It’s the kind of job where even a small mistake could lead instantly to the deaths of hundreds of people. Not surprisingly, the hiring standards for air traffic controllers were long among the most selective of all federal jobs.
Applicants typically needed to complete military service or pass the FAA’s Collegiate Training Initiative Program. After that, they sat for a specially-designed exam that tested for relevant job skills, skills like math ability and complex problem-solving.
Only those with the highest scores made the cut. The system was designed to choose the best. And for decades, it worked.
Then, during the Obama administration, activist bureaucrats decided that the pool of air traffic controllers wasn’t diverse enough. They never explained why diversity ought to matter in air traffic control or why it was more important than traditional goals like competence and public safety.
The FAA, without a vote, just scrapped the old hiring system and replaced it with a diversity-friendly version. Most people have no idea this happened.
The FAA now requires many of its applicants to fill out what they call a biographical questionnaire before another other screening. Those who answer the questions in a way that diversity monitors don’t like cannot be considered for hiring, not matter how much experience they have or how well they may do on the other portions of the testing.
The biographical questionnaire is all important. So, what is in this biographical questionnaire? Well, we can answer that question because we’ve got a copy of it and we also got information about how it is scored. And it’s shocking!
For example, one question asked test-takers to name their worst grade in high school. The preferred answer for that is science. In other words, if you can’t do science, the FAA is especially eager to hire you as an air traffic controller. You get 10 points for being bad at science, according to the scoring sheet.
Another question asked about work history. According to the FAA, the best answer to that question is you haven’t worked at all in the past three years. You get 10 points for not working.
Apparently, unemployed people make the best air traffic controllers. This is demented, by the way, but it’s real. So do applicants who played a lot of sports in high school. They’re rewarded too.
By contrast, applicants who say they know a great deal about air traffic control get only five points. Trained pilots get two points.
Once again, applicants who haven’t worked at all, who have been unemployed for the past three years, get 10 points. Pilots, 2 points. This is insane. And it’s dangerous. It’s also indefensible.
We asked the FAA’s top spokesman why applicants for an air traffic control job would get more points for playing high school sports than for flying planes or knowing a lot about air traffic control.
His response, “I’m trying to find that out as well.” Well, not actually trying very hard, it turns out. We still haven’t heard back with a real explanation and, of course, we won’t because there isn’t one, other than shut up, diversity.
But we won’t shut up. This is too important. Lives are at stake.
Below is Michael Pearson’s testimony:
“the biographical questionnaire and biographical assessment…was made to screen out people with experience…. The test was basically meant to screen out people with aviation experience. There’s even worse questions and answers on the test….
[A] group within the FAA, including the human resources function within the FAA, including the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees, determined that the workforce was too white.
They had a concerted effort through the Department of Transportation of the Obama administration to change that. And quite frankly, they’re sacrificing, and have sacrificed, safety at the altar of political correctness.
What happened offends not only the conscience but also federal law….
[O]ur law firm, along with Mountain States Legal Foundation, filed the initial lawsuit, and then the group of schools got together, over 30 collegiate training institutional schools got together and actually went to Congress.
And there have been members of Congress. Rep. Randy Hultgren, Rep. Frank LoBiondo have held hearings on this. The problem of it is that the union, NATCA [National Air Traffic Controllers Association], controls a large PAC and they fund a lot of politicians, and nothing will get past in aviation without the blessing of the controllers union.
And their position radically changed when the Obama administration came in. And my belief is that favors were changed. Now, I’m not saying that lightly. I was an air traffic controller at four of the busiest facilities in the country for almost 27 years, along with being an attorney and a professor.
So, when I say these things, it’s not based only on experience, it’s also based upon documentary evidence and proof I have….
This is not a partisan issue, quite frankly, because, again, it’s the safety of the national airspace that’s at risk here….
And to be very straightforward, the mainstream media has not covered it actually and has covered up this issue and has not revealed what’s going on. And it’s a shame. And it’s not only shameful. It again sacrifices public safety.
Go to Breitbart for the video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yym0w6UbzAI
H/t John Molloy
~Eowyn