For Immediate Release: January 30, 2025
Contact: Jess Davidson, jdavidson@aapd.com; 202-465-5528
Contact: Hana Hancock, hana.hancock@newheightscommunications.co
Low staffing levels, not workers’ qualifications, may have led to tragedy
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last night’s tragic mid-air collision over DC is devastating. While we await the results of a thorough investigation, President Donald Trump used this tragedy to push his anti-diversity agenda by blaming – without evidence – Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees with disabilities for the crash. Soon after Trump’s comments, multiple news agencies reported that the air traffic tower was understaffed at the time of the crash. Despite these reports, the White House has continued to double down on their baseless claims.
“The President is deliberately spreading falsehoods to demonize the quarter of American adults who live with disabilities rather than directing federal resources at ensuring such a devastating tragedy never happens again. This is part of a broader coordinated attack on civil rights and equal opportunity across government. These attacks threaten our ability to build the strongest possible aviation workforce to keep Americans safe,” said AAPD President and CEO Maria Town.
“These latest attacks on qualified federal employees with disabilities are not just wrong, they’re dangerous attempts to turn back decades of bipartisan progress toward a stronger, more inclusive government that serves all Americans,” Town continued.
When given fair opportunities to compete, people with disabilities consistently demonstrate excellence across every field. Shutting out qualified talent poses a significant threat to quality service delivery and air safety. With one in four American adults living with disabilities, attempts to exclude our community from federal service would deprive our aviation system of millions of skilled workers who could help build a stronger, safer, and more innovative air-travel system that serves all Americans.
Federal disability hiring initiatives ensure that disabled candidates are hired into roles for which we are competitive and talented. These initiatives, first signed into law by President Nixon through the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, have created opportunities for disabled people, and too, benefitted the Federal Government and our Nation with skilled, disabled government employees through their faithful service. The Federal Aviation Administration, like all federal agencies, maintains rigorous qualification standards that every candidate must meet. These standards have never changed, and do not change if the candidate has a disability.
With unemployment rates for people with disabilities already twice as high as our peers, the President’s attempts to reimpose barriers and spread harmful stigmas about people with psychiatric disabilities would make our government less effective and our country less safe by cutting off access to needed talent.
AAPD will continue fighting to ensure all qualified disabled people have fair opportunities to serve their country and contribute their skills to building a stronger, safer America. Our hearts are with the families of those lost in the tragedy and the many touched by them and the disaster.