‘DEI cost me job at FAA, a crash was inevitable’


‘DEI cost me job at FAA, a crash was inevitable’

31 January 2025 8:10am GMT An aspiring air traffic controller who claims he was denied a job because of diversity targets said the aviation agency’s obsession with inclusion made an accident likely to happen. Andrew Brigida, 35, scored 100 per cent in his training exam but claims he was denied a position in an air traffic control tower because the recruitment process of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) favoured diverse candidates. He is part of a class action lawsuit filed against the federal agency. Speaking after the disaster that killed 67 people, Mr Brigida claimed that years of diversity hiring meant it was only a matter of time before an accident happened. “You want to hire the best and the brightest for this kind of job because it is a very stressful job and it can take a toll on you, age you prematurely,” he told The Telegraph. “You want to make sure that the people that are doing it are the best.”