From the article: ... ... ... (I shared an article about this a year ago.)
From the article:
The FAA had established its CTI program in 1989, working together alongside a select group of universities and community colleges to build a better-prepared, college-educated workforce. By the early 2010s, when Moranda and other aspiring air traffic controllers entered the program, CTI was the primary way by which people would enter the field, with the FAA accepting virtually no off-the-street hires. On its website, the FAA instructed aspiring air traffic controllers that if they got CTI degrees, passed the profession’s aptitude test (the AT-SAT), and met other eligibility requirements, it would place them into a priority hiring queue, giving them first opportunity every time employment slots opened up. Students understood that the FAA hired virtually everyone who completed the program and passed the assessment.
...
Then, on New Year’s Eve, 2013, while students and professors alike were out for winter break, the FAA abruptly sent an announcement to the presidents of the CTI schools. The announcement came, without warning, as an email from one Mr. Joseph Teixeira, the organization’s vice president for safety and technical training. "The FAA completed a barrier analysis of the ATC occupation pursuant to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Management Directive 715,” the email read,1 then went on to spell out some changes:
First, every past aptitude test applicants had taken was voided. Andrew Brigida’s perfect score was meaningless.
Second, every applicant would be required to take and pass an unspecified “biographical questionnaire” to have a shot at entering the profession.
Third, existing CTI students were left with no advantage in the hiring process, which would be equally open to all off-the-street applicants—their degrees rendered useless for the one specialized job they had trained for.
...
After a tragic airplane crash last Wednesday, President Trump and Vice President Vance ensured the hiring scandal could not possibly be forgotten any longer, referencing it explicitly during their remarks on the crash before Trump signed a memorandum demanding immediate investigation into DEI tactics in the FAA, referencing the biographical questionnaire by name. Brigida was glad to see Trump draw attention to the scandal. Others in the class are frustrated to see the way it’s been weaponized to attack not just initiatives that lower the bar, but initiatives that give opportunities for exposure and mentorship to people who would never otherwise realize aviation is an option.
...
Has this had a long-term impact on aviation safety and air traffic controller shortages? Likely yes.
An active air traffic controller reached out to me at the end of January last year, talking about his frustration that so many qualified individuals were eliminated from entering training, contributing to a dire staffing shortage. His facility was operating at less than 75%, with controllers fatigued from working 6-day weeks. As he explained it, training can take 1.5 to 2.5 years at larger facilities, with washout rates from 30-60%, and when we spoke upper level facilities were only accepting transfers from lower level facilities, adding years to preparation time. Every issue compounds and adds to the problem over time, and the FAA’s 2013 changes set staffing back years. The FAA, he said, simply is not bringing in enough people to match the number leaving, with some air traffic controllers believing the agency is failing on purpose to find an excuse to privatize them.
This was a great timeline of the events. I had known this was a thing, but had no idea this is how it played out. Very much worth the read And at the end, the author addressing both sides...
This was a great timeline of the events. I had known this was a thing, but had no idea this is how it played out. Very much worth the read
And at the end, the author addressing both sides politically in a non-partisan fashion was incredibly refreshing. I wish I saw more of that in journalism
The audio version is nice. It's a shame how there is a legitimate hiring scandal within the FAA. It's resulted in a lack of graduates from the ATC training program. But what I'm hearing online...
It's a shame how there is a legitimate hiring scandal within the FAA. It's resulted in a lack of graduates from the ATC training program. But what I'm hearing online from people who have heard Trump's DEI complaints is they're worried their pilot or ATC personnel are black and unqualified.
From the article:
...
...
...
(I shared an article about this a year ago.)
This was a great timeline of the events. I had known this was a thing, but had no idea this is how it played out. Very much worth the read
And at the end, the author addressing both sides politically in a non-partisan fashion was incredibly refreshing. I wish I saw more of that in journalism
The audio version is nice.
It's a shame how there is a legitimate hiring scandal within the FAA. It's resulted in a lack of graduates from the ATC training program. But what I'm hearing online from people who have heard Trump's DEI complaints is they're worried their pilot or ATC personnel are black and unqualified.