The Federal Aviation Administration has spelled out an initiative on its website which frighteningly places diversity and inclusion above safety. The initiative is “actively recruiting workers” who suffer “severe intellectual” disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions.
“Targeted disabilities are those disabilities that the Federal government, as a matter of policy, has identified for special emphasis in recruitment and hiring,” the FAA’s website states. “They include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism.”
The New York Post points out the FAA’s website shows the agency’s guidelines on diversity hiring were last updated on March 23, 2022.
The FAA is overseen by Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s Department of Transportation and is a government agency charged with regulating civil aviation and employs roughly 45,000 people. Scrutiny of the FAA follows a terrifying incident after a plug door on a Boeing 737 Max 9 blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5th.
Since, the FAA has grounded all 737 MAX 9 planes to carry out an “extensive inspection” and maintenance work. Nonetheless, the FAA’s website contains proof of its priorities: the agency claims that people with “severe” mental and physical disabilities are the most under-represented segment of the federal workforce, adds the Post.
“Because diversity is so critical, FAA actively supports and engages in a variety of associations, programs, coalitions and initiatives to support and accommodate employees from diverse communities and backgrounds. Our people are our strength, and we take great care in investing in and valuing them as such,” the FAA states.
When asked for comment on the initiative, including what roles people with disabilities would fulfill, the FAA told Fox News Digital that the agency thoroughly seeks and vets qualified candidates “from as many sources as possible” for a range of positions.
“The FAA employs tens of thousands of people for a wide range of positions, from administrative roles to oversight and execution of critical safety functions. Like many large employers, the agency proactively seeks qualified candidates from as many sources as possible, all of whom must meet rigorous qualifications that of course will vary by position,” the FAA said.
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of Do No Harm – a group of health care professionals, medical students and policymakers working to “protect health care from a radical, divisive, and discriminatory ideology” – told Fox News Digital that similar to the medical field, the aviation industry has an obligation to protect its travelers.
