Aviation Industry Slammed for Prioritizing ‘Diversity’ after Near-Catastrophic Mid-Air Incident
The aviation industry has received a host of backlash from news broadcasters, frequent flyers, and social media users following a near-catastrophic incident in which the fuselage door on an Alaska Airlines flight was blown out mid-flight at 16,000 feet above ground.
Investigators said that the weeks-old Boeing 737 Max 9’s cabin pressure warning lights were triggered on three flights before the incident, prompting the maintenance crew to evaluate the plane’s airworthiness. Maintenance cleared the place to fly, but the airline chose to forego any long routes that would take the aircraft over large bodies of water so that it “could return very quickly to an airport,” according to the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy.
“On Friday, Jan. 5, Alaska Airlines temporarily grounded its fleet of 65 737-9 MAX after a door plug detached during flight 1282 from Portland, OR to Ontario, CA. This was a harrowing flight for our guests and crew, and we’re grateful that all individuals have been medically cleared.”
Alaska Airlines
According to the Associated Press, the door plugs [installed when certain exits are not in use] are installed by Boeing subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems, which has a documented history of manufacturing mishaps and has been linked to two fatal crashes involving Boeing 737 Max 8 planes. The AP notes however that investigators have not clarified which company last maintained the failed plug on Alaska Airlines flight 1282.
Several political commentators waded into the controversy and questioned whether or not the corporations’ commitment to diverse hiring practices contributed to the potentially avoidable incident.
In 2021, Alaska Airlines announced that it would be increasing racial diversity in its workforce by 30% by the year 2025, which received harsh criticism from those who speculated that the company, like others, would be moving away from merit-based hiring practices and gravitating toward racial biases. Similarly, Spirit AeroSystems has a lofty diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statement on its website, as does Boeing, which made it a goal to “increase the Black representation rate in the U.S. by 20%.”
Popular account Libs of TikTok shared a post that compiled videos from Alaska Airlines’ “Fly with Pride” event and aircraft, writing, “In case you’re wondering what @Alaskaair has been focusing on, it’s diversity & inclusion.”
“If you’re on an Alaska plane, just pray their diversity hires don’t screw up and they’re putting this same energy into safety,” the post added.
“Has the company been distracted by other priorities that don’t have to do with safety? And if the problem is ‘yes’ then we’re gonna have a bigger problem on our hands and air travel for the foreseeable future could be very difficult,” Fox News’ Dana Perino said.
Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, asked X (formerly Twitter) users, “Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized DEI hiring over your safety? That is actually happening,” in a response to James Lindsay’s post revealing Boeing’s annual incentive plan, which was adjusted in 2022 to include climate pledges and DEI commitments.
