Aviation Expert Slams Trump’s Claim That DEI Hiring Caused Deadly Mid-Air Collision

WASHINGTON—Aviation expert Pete Muntean delivered a blunt rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s claim that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices were responsible for the mid-air collision over the Potomac River, which is presumed to have killed 67 people.

During a CNN segment, anchor Jake Tapper pressed Muntean on Trump’s assertion, asking whether there was any evidence linking DEI hiring to the tragedy. “The investigation of tragedies like this usually takes months, if not years,” Tapper said. “Is there any evidence that hiring practices that President Trump keeps referring to, DEI, played any role in anything that happened?”

Muntean did not mince words in his response. “It is a totally baseless and, frankly, unhinged claim that the president made today that DEI could have had any factor in this case,” he said. Trump has repeatedly suggested that DEI hiring compromises job qualifications, but experts and human resources professionals define it differently.

According to a leading HR consultancy, DEI hiring “is not simply about recruiting people from underrepresented backgrounds or with disabilities in an effort to tick off a box. Instead, inclusive hiring practices aim to level the playing field for all applicants in order to fight against recruitment bias and any form of discrimination.”

Muntean pointed out that there is currently no information on the backgrounds of the air traffic controllers on duty at the time of the crash. “We don’t know much of the biographical information about those in the control tower who essentially had to watch helplessly and call 911 for the fire engines and the emergency response crews to come out here,” Muntean explained. “DEI is really not even part of the conversation.”

He then noted that conservatives have been pushing DEI-related conspiracy theories for months, tying them to unrelated issues in aviation. “This is something that the right has really latched on to for months leading up to this,” Muntean said. “And in fact, only an hour and 40 minutes before this crash took place, [Transportation Secretary] Sean Duffy’s first act, his first press release, said that he was going to roll back DEI initiatives in aviation.”

Muntean concluded by criticizing the administration’s focus on cultural battles rather than aviation safety. “It seems that this administration is not as focused on aviation safety, and is much more focused on DEI, what they call a ‘woke’ practice,” he said. As the investigation into the crash continues, experts warn that Trump’s unsubstantiated blame game could distract from identifying and addressing real safety concerns.