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On Thursday afternoon, I heard President Donald Trump blame the Biden administration DEI initiatives for the tragic accident over the Potomac and am sickened by that statement. To do that shows a complete ignorance of how air traffic controllers are hired, how they are assigned, and the professionalism required.
They go through months of initial training and it takes about two years from date of hire to reach even the first level of certification. At that point, they are typically assigned to a low traffic airport like Bangor, Portland, Manchester, New Hampshire, and so on to practice and hone their skills. They are never assigned to some place like Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), LaGuardia, or Logan, where the traffic density is extremely high, until they have some serious experience.
I’m not a betting man but I am a retired U.S. Air Force and airline pilot, and I have a dollar that says none of the controllers at DCA were hired during the Biden administration and another dollar that says over 90 percent were hired during either Bill Clinton’s, George W. Bush’s or Barack Obama’s terms.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate thoroughly and present their fact-based conclusions in good time. Too bad the Trump acolytes will likely never see it and Fox News will likely never present it. To them, Trump said DEI killed 67 people. End of story.
David Aldrich
Belfast