FAA embroiled in lawsuit alleging it turned away 1,000 applicants based on race despite staffing woes

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...