News/Commentary

American Airlines ‘hard landing’ sends 6 to hospital, social media points to ’embedded’ DEI policy

January 28, 2024 | | Print Article

A recent American Airlines mishap has critics once again blaming the airline industry’s obsession with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

An American Airlines flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Kahului Airport in Maui suffered a “hard landing” on Saturday, leading to six people being briefly hospitalized for minor injuries, as reported by NBC News.

“According to an FAA statement, the American Airlines Airbus A320 ‘made a hard landing’ on an airport runway around 2 p.m. local time. Those hospitalized included one passenger and five flight attendants,” the outlet reported early Sunday morning.

A separate report from Hawaii News Now notes that first responders were called to the scene around 2:21 pm.

Critics believe American Airlines’ DEI policy is to blame:

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Seen here, the policy states that DEI is “foundational to the American Airlines culture” and “embedded into the fabric of who we are as a company.”

“From the team members we hire to the customers we serve, diversity, equity and inclusion is a way of life at American Airlines,” the policy page reads.

“Every day, our team members work to make American a place where people of all generations, races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, gender identity, disabilities, religious affiliations and backgrounds feel welcome and valued,” it continues.

The page further notes one of the airline’s goals is “[e]nsuring the diversity of our team reflects the diversity of our global customer base.”

Incidentally, the airline’s embrace of DEI seems to coincide with an uptick in mishaps and incidents.

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Indeed, the incident at the Kahului Airport in Maui comes just about a week after another American Airlines plane reportedly slid off the runway when landing.

“An American Airlines flight slipped off a runway at New York’s Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport at around 4 p.m on Thursday, leading to 53 people having to be evacuated from the aircraft,” People magazine reported on Jan. 19th.

A day later, another incident occurred: An American Airlines flight reportedly headed to Charlotte had to be diverted to Houston because an onboard oven caught fire.

“Shortly after departure, crew members on American Airlines flight 885 with service from Austin (AUS) to Charlotte (CLT) reported a mechanical issue onboard. Out of an abundance of caution, the flight diverted to Houston (IAH),” the airline said in a statement to Houston station KPRC.

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“The aircraft landed safely and without incident, and taxied to the gate under its own power. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and appreciate our team members for their professionalism. We are currently working to assist impacted customers, and they are scheduled to redepart to CLT later tonight,” the airline added.

American Airlines isn’t the online DEI-obsessed airline suffering unusual mishaps. So are Atlas Air and United Airlines.

Regarding United Airlines, a previously uneventful flight from the Newark Liberty International Airport to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston suffered a hard landing on July 29th.

“According to the [National Transportation Safety Board’s] preliminary report, while landing at IAH, the First Officer was flying and, despite best efforts to keep the nose wheel from bouncing, the nose wheel made contact with abnormal force,” as reported by Simple Flying, an aviation news source.

“The airplane appeared to bounce, and he reacted by pulling aft on the control yoke, in an effort to keep the nose wheel from impacting the runway a second time. Subsequently, the speed brakes deployed, and the auto brakes engaged which resulted in a second bounce of the nose wheel.”

These bounces reportedly caused significant damage to the airplane.

But why did the mishap occur? Was it the airplane acting up, or was the pilot at fault? According to conservative activist Ashley St. Clair, it may well be the second one.

In a tweet posted recently, she claimed the pilot was a DEI hire who’d “failed multiple trainings” but been hired anyway because he or she had checked the right identity boxes.

“Was the co-pilot a former flight attendant who was FIRED and then rehired through United’s DEI program despite being on a list to not return to United?” St. Clair wrote in her tweets.

“Am I correct that this individual failed multiple trainings including simulator training? Am I also correct that United has covered up this DEI disaster and many others?” she added.

Vivek Saxena
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