Pete Buttigieg lowered standards for air traffic controllers while in charge, DOT chief Sean Duffy tells ‘Pod Force One’ in bombshell claim
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy charged on the latest episode of “Pod Force One” that his predecessor, Pete Buttigieg, lowered the requirements to be considered a “well-qualified” air traffic control candidate, leading to spiking dropout rates at the Federal Aviation Administration Academy in Oklahoma City.
Officially, candidates who score above 85% on the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) exam are considered “well-qualified” — or “best-qualified” with a score of 90% or higher — and prime choices to be FAA-certified controllers.
“Well, what happened was, they had a substantial washout rate, 30%-plus,” Duffy went on, “because they couldn’t do the work.”
“And then it took so long, if they go — if, Miranda, you take the test, you pass it, you got an 82%, it might take you two years to get your seat in the academy,” the secretary continued. “Well, if you’re 22 years old, you’re gonna go find a different job. You’re not gonna stick around.”
A spokesperson for Buttigieg told The Post on Tuesday when asked for comment on Duffy’s claims: “If he had any proof to back up what he said, it seems like they’d provide it.”
Buttigieg himself has also vehemently denied lowering the standards to become a certified air traffic controller.
“To be abundantly clear: we did not change the rigorous standard for becoming a certified air traffic controller,” Buttigieg wrote on X on Feb. 2. “Those claiming otherwise are mistaken or lying. We did increase funding & training, and grew the ATC workforce after years of declining numbers, including under Trump.”
Reps for the FAA and Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Duffy acknowledged to Devine that while the ATSA exam is “the best indicator” known for determining who may be up to the job of directing the nation’s air traffic, “they haven’t really figured out the best test to do this.”
“It’s a tough job,” the DOT chief said. “And by the way, it’s really hard to figure out who’s going to be good at it. You could get a baker and a candlestick maker that are great at it, and someone else with a math degree that just doesn’t figure it out.”
Earlier this year, Duffy moved to aggressively ramp up recruitment of air traffic controllers to address workforce shortages that have dogged the agency for nearly three decades.
The issue made national headlines after 67 people were killed Jan. 29 in a midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a regional jet over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
No comments:
Post a Comment