The Federal Aviation Administration was hit with a class action lawsuit last year alleging it had denied 1,000 would-be air traffic controllers jobs because of diversity hiring targets — as it was revealed staffing levels were “not normal” at the time of this week’s deadly midair collision.
Complaints about the FAA’s hiring policies resurfaced after the American Airlines passenger plane and a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, killing 67 people in the country’s deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.
Details of the litigation reemerged, too, as Andrew Brigida — the lead plaintiff in the suit — suggested the federal aviation agency’s obsession with diversity hiring and inclusion had only ensured an accident was likely to happen.
The crux of the lawsuit is that the FAA, under the Obama administration, dropped a skill-based system for hiring controllers and instead replaced it with a “biographical assessment” in an alleged bid to boost the number of minority job applicants.
Brigida, who is white, alleges he was discriminated against solely based on his race when his application was rejected, court papers state.
The vying air traffic controller, who graduated from Arizona State University’s collegiate training initiative in 2013, was turned down for a job even though he had scored 100% on his training exam, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit adds to the mounting criticism the FAA has faced this week over its hiring policies — with some, including President Trump, claiming diversity programs were, in part, to blame for understaffing and overall lower standards of air traffic controllers.
Asked if he thought years of diversity hiring ensured an aviation accident was bound to happen, Brigida told The Telegraph, “Yes, that’s kind of accurate.”
His assessment came as the FAA revealed that the air traffic controller on duty at the time of the passenger plane-Black Hawk helicopter crash late Wednesday was doing the work of two people.
Staffing in the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” the FAA found in its preliminary report into the crash.
The understaffing resulted in a controller pulling double duty — overseeing helicopters while also guiding arriving and departing planes on the busy airport’s runways, according to the report, which added that the responsibilities are typically split between two controllers.
The airport’s air traffic control facilities have been understaffed for years — with only 19 fully certified controllers on deck as of September 2023, according to Congress’ Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan report.
Brigida, who now works in the FAA as a program manager, said he hoped Trump would “immediately” work to fix the apparent staffing crisis within the agency.
“He obviously sees the issue at hand and if he didn’t I’m sure people that work in the Department of Transportation and the FAA informed him that there is an issue with staffing and air traffic control and I’m hoping they can work on it immediately,” he told The Telegraph.
The Post reached out to the FAA regarding the ongoing lawsuit but didn’t hear back immediately.
The aviation agency and US Department of Transport are currently fighting the suit, which is slated to go to court early next year.
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