Tag: FAA

Government Waste That Should Really Piss You Off

Why have there been so many air traffic control issues lately? Is it because Trump has begun to trim a little fat from the bloated federal bureaucracy, as the media would have us believe? Or is it because for 4 years the secretary of transportation was a left-wing nitwit whose only job qualification was that he is ostentatiously homosexual?

The Air Traffic Control is being run off of diskettes, Musk found that out.

The New York Post reports:

Pete Buttigieg failed to replace outdated air traffic control systems while in office — with his agency instead shelling out tens of billions of dollars on a DEI agenda, according to federal spending records and airline industry insiders.

The effect of DEI on air safety is predictable.

In one meeting, Buttigieg — who is said to be eyeing a 2028 presidential run — told industry executives that air traffic control upgrades would just allow them to fly more planes, “and so why would that be in his interest?” sources said.

According to Democrat ideology, transportation makes it be too hot outside by requiring energy, so why would he want to facilitate Americans having more of it?

What his department was really interested in was handing out hundreds of diversity, equity and inclusion grants totaling more than $80 billion over four years — at least half of the DOT’s entire budget for a typical fiscal year, records show.

Again we see that the Biden Administration was not so much a government as a looting spree.

“He was definitely pushing an agenda,” an air industry official said, noting the transportation secretary had “little to no interest” and took “definitely zero action” toward air traffic control modernization.

Gobbling up our money on behalf of their malevolent agenda is the whole point for Democrats. That’s why their transportation secretary was not required to know anything about transportation.

As of last month, an Emerson College poll of registered voters found the former transportation secretary leading the 2028 Democratic presidential primary field with 16% support, followed by ex-Vice President Kamala Harris at 13%.

Among Democrats, this kooky and incompetent creep is a star.

H/t Moonbattery

Another Air Traffic Fail Exposes Biden Chaos- Oh I Want To Travel Now

In a revelation that has stirred alarm among national security circles and outrage among millions of Americans, it has been confirmed that the direct hotline between the Pentagon and the control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has been out of service since March 2022 — for more than three consecutive years. The confirmation came from Franklin McIntosh, a senior official at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), during an oversight hearing led by Senator Ted Cruz, current chairman of the Senate committee on aviation and transportation.

The exchange was brief but damning. When Cruz asked:

“Is it true that the direct line between the Pentagon, air traffic control, and the DCA tower has been inoperative since March 2022?”
McIntosh’s response was clear:
“Yes, sir, that is correct.”

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More Fun In Travel: Denver Airport Lost Air Traffic Control for 90 Seconds

n what is becoming an all too familiar scenario over the past month, Denver International Airport lost all communications for nearly 90 seconds earlier this week, Denver7 reported.

As many as 20 pilots flying into the airport Monday afternoon were unable to communicate with air traffic controllers for a minute and half, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed.

“Part of the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) experienced a loss of communications for approximately 90 seconds around 1:50 p.m. local time on Monday, May 12, when both transmitters that cover a segment of airspace went down,” according to the FAA.

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First, it was Newark, now Denver. When has it failed that we weren’t told about it?

Transportation Secretary Calls for Urgent Overhaul of Aging Air Traffic System – Because It’s Broken

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Tags: transportation | sean duffy | air traffic control | equipment | old | parts | elon musk

Transportation Secretary Calls for Urgent Overhaul of Aging Air Traffic System

By Nick Koutsobinas    |   Sunday, 11 May 2025 08:46 PM EDT

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In a prerecorded Friday interview that was released on Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on “Meet the Press” called for an overhaul of the nation’s air traffic control infrastructure, some of which includes parts that need to be purchased on “eBay.”

“I’m concerned about the whole airspace,” Duffy told NBC News’ Kristen Welker. “The equipment that we use, much of it we can’t buy parts for new. We have to go on eBay and buy parts if one part goes down. You’re dealing with old equipment.

“We’re dealing with copper wires, not fiber” optics, “not high-speed fiber” optics, Duffy added. “This is concerning. Is it safe? Yes. We have redundancies – multiple redundancies in place to keep you safe when you fly, but we should also recognize, we’re seeing stress on an old network, and it’s time to fix it.”

In late February, Elon Musk, while working in his capacity as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency commission, also called for an overhaul of the nation’s air traffic control grid.

Musk posted to X that “the ancient” air traffic control “system that is rapidly declining in capability was made [by] L3Harris.

“The FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk,” he added. “The Starlink terminals are being sent at NO COST to the taxpayer on an emergency basis to restore air traffic control connectivity. The situation is extremely dire.”

Musk went on to note that a $2.4 billion contract from Verizon to upgrade the Federal Aviation Administration’s equipment “is not yet operational.” Shortly after Musk’s post, The Washington Post, pulling from two anonymous sources, reported that the agency was on the cusp of canceling its Verizon contract and giving it to SpaceX.

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Air Traffic Controllers Face 1,000 Tech Failures a Week

In more good news that makes you want to travel, a system that Musk says is being run off of diskettes has 6 months of life left. It’s already breaking down

Air traffic controllers in the U.S. have experienced about 1,000 equipment failures a week due to ancient equipment, a former federal aviation official and several airline industry insiders told the New York Post.

The report comes less than a week after a 90-second equipment failure at Newark Liberty International Airport caused air traffic controllers’ communications to go dark, sparking hundreds of flight delays and disrupting travel for thousands for days.

The cause was a single unsheathed copper wire at the air traffic control center in Philadelphia.

“This is a copper wire system, and frankly the FAA is experiencing almost 1,000 outages a week,” one airline industry official told the Post, referring to the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Some outages are worse than others — but the bad thing about them is you can’t predict them.”

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All of this makes me really want to jump on a plane

Lady Drivers – Female pilot hits runway with wing of passenger plane. She ‘had no clue’ it happened…

Those zany female pilots are at it again—only this time, they’re clipping wings and careening down the runway. The latest DEI disaster in the skies is just another example of what happens when identity politics trumps qualifications. But before we nosedive into this latest catastrophe, let’s rewind to a recent “girl power” moment that ended in flames.

You probably remember the Endeavor Air runway fiasco—not just a near-miss, but a full-on crash landing. The plane, proudly manned by an all-female crew, touched down upside down and skidded down the tarmac in a fiery spectacle. Passengers were no doubt reliving their worst nightmares as the aircraft scraped across the ground, proving once again that diversity hires don’t make for safe landings.

The airline industry has been hit hard by the left’s dangerous and deadly DEI movement. The once “friendly skies” are now a crapshoot of confusion, chaos, and calamity. And speaking of DEI disasters, we recently covered a story about an FAA supervisor who actually fed test answers to a group of unqualified minority applicants taking an air traffic control exam.

Safety last.

Revolver:

DEI is slowly but surely destroying this country. It’s gotten so bad—so deeply entrenched in every system—that President Trump has made eradicating it a cornerstone of his administration. And not a moment too soon.

Just look at this latest bombshell, courtesy of a Daily Mail exclusive. They got their hands on a voicemail from a DEI activist and FAA supervisor who, according to their report, handed out critical answers to an air traffic control exam—to a select group of minority candidates.

No wonder the once “friendly skies” have turned so deadly…

Unlimited L’s:

DEI activist allegedly caught sharing air traffic controller exam answers with minority candidates in leaked audio obtained by the Daily Mail

Shelton Snow, a prominent figure in the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE), was caught in a shocking audio clip promising advance access to test answers

‘There are some valuable pieces of information that I have taken a screenshot of and I am going to send that to you via email,’ says Snow

‘I am about 99.99 percent sure that it is exactly how you need to answer each question.’

The inside information was offered in 2014 to African Americans, females, and other minority candidates, while Whites were excluded to “minimize competition.”

It remains unknown how many candidates benefited from Snow’s offer to secure coveted air traffic controller jobs

Snow stated, “We can give you advance access to test answers,” as reported by DailyMail

But one former NBCFAE member, Matthew Douglas, told DailyMail: ‘I know several people who cheated and I know several people who are controlling planes as we speak.’

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We Still Don’t Know The Details About The Helicopter/Plane Crash At Reagan Airport – Other Than DEI

As I said earlier, if it were a white man, we’d know every aspect of his meal the night before the next day.

As it is, there has been nothing about the crash, the FAA involvement, the pilot herself, or what was in the black box.

This stinks to high heaven. There is DEI written all over it as well as incompetence

Oh, I Really Want To Fly Now – “Extremely Dire”: FAA Assesses Communication System Close To Catastrophic Failure, SpaceX Sends Starlink Terminals at NO COST to Taxpayer

To be clear here, the Verizon communication system to air traffic control is breaking down very rapidly. The FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk.

The Starlink terminals are being sent at NO COST to the taxpayer on an emergency basis to restore air traffic control connectivity.

The situation is extremely dire. (Elon Musk on X)

The left is in meltdown, of course. They’d rather have airline crashes and dead people so they can blame Trump.

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More here

WATCH: Planes Nearly Collide On Major Airport’s Runway In Shocking Clip

A dramatic near-miss at Chicago’s Midway Airport forced a Southwest Airlines plane to abort its landing after a small jet unexpectedly crossed the runway.

A video of the shocking incident has surfaced, showing the Southwest aircraft performing a last-second “touch and go” maneuver to avoid disaster.

The close call is reminiscent of a similar situation at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in December, when a Delta jet nearly collided with a plane carrying the Gonzaga men’s basketball team.

The Midway incident adds to a growing list of aviation scares in 2025. While data shows air travel remains statistically safe, a series of crashes and near-misses have raised public concern.

WATCH:

This year’s aviation chaos started January 29, when a mid-air collision over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., killed all 67 people aboard an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter.

The crash, which occurred during the plane’s final approach to Reagan National Airport, is under investigation by the NTSB, with early findings pointing to possible air traffic control failures, miscommunication, and the helicopter flying at an incorrect altitude.

The tragedy deeply impacted the figure skating community, as several young skaters and their families were among the victims. Meanwhile, a victim’s family has filed a $250 million lawsuit against the FAA and the U.S. Army, citing negligence. The incident, along with recent aviation safety concerns, has led to a decline in public confidence in air travel.

More recently, a Delta Connection flight from Minneapolis flipped upside down while landing at Toronto Pearson Airport on February 17, with 80 people on board. While all passengers survived, 21 were injured, including a child and two adults who were initially in critical condition.

Delta offered each passenger $30,000 as compensation, though at least one survivor has since filed a lawsuit against the airline. Investigators are looking into weather conditions and crew experience as possible factors in the crash.

Here are some of the most notable aviation incidents this year:

  • January 29 – The devastating crash in Washington, D.C., resulted in 67 fatalities.
  • January 31 – A medevac jet crashed in Philadelphia, killing seven people.
  • February 6 – A regional airline flight in Nome, Alaska, went down, claiming 10 lives.
  • February 14 – A fatal crash in Pierson, Florida, took the life of the pilot.

In total, 88 people have died in seven aviation incidents in the U.S. in 2025, according to Fox4.

click to watch as I couldn’t download the clip off the site, but it’s close enough to say the pilot saved this one.

FAA’s Obama-Era “Biographical Questionnaire” for DIE Faces New Scrutiny After the D.C. Crash

As The Daily Signal previously reported, under President Barack Obama’s administration, the FAA scrapped a skills-based test and a certification program, and replaced it with a biographical questionnaire to attract more diverse applicants to become air traffic controllers. The FAA previously drew most candidates from the military and a group of 36 colleges that offer air traffic control programs.

“The Obama administration implemented a biographical questionnaire at the FAA to shift the hiring focus away from objective aptitude. During my first term, my administration raised standards to achieve the highest standards of safety and excellence,” the Trump memorandum says. “But the Biden administration egregiously rejected merit-based hiring, requiring all executive departments and agencies to implement dangerous ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ tactics, and specifically recruiting individuals with ‘severe intellectual’ disabilities in the FAA.”

The memorandum continues: “On my second day in office, I ordered an immediate return to merit-based recruitment, hiring, and promotion, elevating safety and ability as the paramount standard. [Wednesday’s] devastating accident tragically underscores the need to elevate safety and competence as the priority of the FAA.”

Critics have said the policy that originated under Obama and was revived by former President Joe Biden gives more points to applicants who have not been employed for the past three years than to an applicant who has been a pilot or a veteran with an air traffic control-related military background. During his first term, Trump discarded the policy in 2018, but Biden reinstated it.

“When you are flying on an airplane with your loved ones—which everyone of us in this room has—do you pray that your plane lands safely and gets you to your destination?” Leavitt asked reporters rhetorically on Friday. “Or do you pray that the pilot has a certain skin color? I think we all know the answer to that question. As President Trump said yesterday, it’s common sense.”

The spokeswoman said the Trump administration still believes it is safe to fly in the United States. Still, she said, the memorandum is intended to “deliver accountability.”

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Woke and DEI ruin everything they touch, every damn time

More On DEI Air Traffic Controllers At The FAA

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It’s Not Like They Didn’t Try To Fix The FAA In Washington…..A Year Ago

https://twitter.com/TryloTheCreator/status/1885064026004357333?mx=2

And it started with Obama in 2010, hire the unqualified

Why I Don’t Want To Fly Anymore – 2024 Deadly Year For Aviation

Recent Rash Of Crashes Turns 2024 Into Deadliest Year For Aviation Since 2018

The commercial aviation industry faced a turbulent week with four plane crashes, making this one of the deadliest years since 2018. The most shocking mid-air aviation disaster occurred on Sunday when a Jeju Air 737-800 jet crashed at Muan International Airport in South Korea. 

Amid the latest mid-air mishaps and several others, onboard passenger fatalities on commercial flights have risen to 318 this year, according to Bloomberg, citing data from Cirium.

This marks the highest death toll since 2018, when 500 lives were lost—a year defined by the first of two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes.

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Sure, it’s a cheap out for me who hates airports, lines, TSA, people, germs, hotels and flying, but hey it works for me.

Let’s not forget all the DEI in the FAA, air traffic control, Boeing, and the Airlines. They could have hired quality instead of quota

We’re Gonna Die In The Air: FAA created “secret code words” for blacks so they could one-up whites and Asians…

It’s no secret that the US airline industry is currently plagued with scandal, fear, and a lot of turbulence. Much of the turmoil is linked to their obsessive focus on the left’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) agenda. DEI prioritizes factors like skin color, gender identity, and sexual orientation over actual skills and talent in their hiring process. Let’s look at four recent examples of failed DEI hires.

Austen:

This is one of the craziest things I’ve ever read.

First, the FAA gave secret code words to students in the Black Caucus of Federal Aviation Employees to put in their resume that would skip them to the front of the line.

In another instance of the signals to go to the front of the line was to say the high school class you received your lowest grades in was “Science.”

Yes, they literally shot you to the front of the line if you said your worst grades were in Science.

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