Air traffic controllers hit back at Trump's controversial comments

Speaking at a press conference after a crash between a Black Hawk army helicopter and an American Airlines  (AAL)  commercial flight killed 67 people, President Donald Trump held a press conference in which he singled out air traffic controllers and blamed the accident on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.

“They have to be talented, naturally talented,” Trump said in the Jan. 30 press conference. “Geniuses. Can’t have regular people doing their job. We can’t have regular people doing this job. They won’t be able to do it, but we’ll restore faith in American air travel.”

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Trump’s comments on ‘people with severe disabilities’ spark industry outcry

In the same speech, Trump also cited a website of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which, under the Biden administration, spoke of recruiting efforts for underepresented groups and claimed that they want “people with severe disabilities” to “be air traffic controllers.”

The implication that present-day air traffic controllers are somehow unqualified or incapable caused a predictable outcry among a community generally considered to have one of the most difficult jobs in the world

Due to the high degree of stress and concentration levels required to make split-second decisions, the FAA is currently 3,000 air traffic controllers shorter than it would like to have staffing the country’s airport stations and towers.

Related: American Airlines crash with Black Hawk helicopter leaves no survivors

At the time of the crash, the air traffic controller was simultaneously overseeing two towers at Reagan National Airport — one of which was operating at 85% capacity.

‘Having one air traffic controller do a job two people normally do’

“I just want to tell the world [that] as an air traffic controller, I can’t take Tylenol without permission,” Jacoby Patton wrote on Meta  (META)  platform Threads. “‘Severe intellectual disabilities’ is absolutely crazy.”

More on travel:

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“Things that have caused the DC plane crash: having one air traffic controller do a job two people normally do because of far-right efforts to destroy the government,” wrote lawyer and legal commentator Tristan Snell. “Things that did NOT cause the DC crash: women, Black people, Pete Buttigieg, DEI programs generally.”

Later investigation revealed that a supervisor had assigned the air traffic controller on duty to oversee two towers at once after allowing another to clock off early.

While an investigation into the causes of the first major plane crash on U.S. soil since 2009 has only just begun, Trump’s speculations and readiness to assign blame has angered not just air traffic controllers but also legal experts working with people with disabilities.

“These types of abusive stereotypes hurt real people – contributing to their discrimination and marginalization, and hurting their efforts to find jobs,” Megan Schuller, director of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, told TheStreet. “People with disabilities, including mental disabilities, have long served our country at every level of government with distinction, including in the office of the president.”

When pressed by reporters on what evidence he had to make claims about air traffic controllers with disabilities, Trump said he did not have direct proof that DEI programs were in any way responsible for the collision but “it just could have been.”

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