News/Commentary

DEI hiring practices at FAA under spotlight in light of air traffic controller cheating scandal

March 14, 2025 | | Print Article

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced an investigation after a report alleged that an air traffic operations supervisor helped minority candidates cheat on entrance exams.

Duffy reposted a DailyMail.com story on X that revealed the alleged cheating incident involving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) where a supervisor in New York helped black and minority candidates with exam answers.

“I am launching a full investigation into the DEI hiring allegations at the FAA immediately,” the secretary wrote. “If true, swift accountability will come for those responsible. We need the best and brightest, not buzzword, DEI hires.”

“Shelton Snow, a powerful figure in the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE), can be heard promising advance access to test answers in a shocking audio clip obtained by DailyMail.com,” the outlet reported. “The inside info was made available in 2014 to African Americans, females, and other minority candidates – but whites were left out of the loop to ‘minimize competition.'”

In the audio clip allegedly from 2014, Snow is purportedly heard saying, “There are some valuable pieces of information that I have taken a screenshot of and I am going to send that to you via email.”

“I am about 99.99 percent sure that it is exactly how you need to answer each question,” he said.

It is unknown how many applicants were able to utilize Snow’s information to their advantage.

“I know several people who cheated and I know several people who are controlling planes as we speak,” Matthew Douglas, a former NBCFAE member, told DailyMail.com.

Snow was the president of the NBCFAE’s Washington Suburban chapter when he allegedly made the audio message in 2014. While the voicemail was leaked by a whistleblower and an investigation followed a 2015 report, the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General cleared him in 2016, concluding: “The findings in this investigation did not warrant a referral to a federal prosecutor.”

“Snow went on to become the NBCFAE’s Northeast Regional Vice President. He was also its top national recruiter for 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016,” according to Daily Mail which noted that the 50-year-old US Navy veteran is still employed by the FAA and runs a dog breeding business from his home.

The outlet reached out to Snow for the report and he reportedly said, “With all due respect, I have no comment. Please do not call this phone again.”

In January 2014, Snow allegedly gave a list of HR ‘buzz words’ to NBCFAE members to add into their job applications, writing: “These buzzwords will flag your resume, thereby giving you the advantage over thousands of resumes that may flood the system.”

“I am asking that you … allow me to provide you with an email that will be extremely crucial in the opening stages of this hiring process,” Snow told “Washington Suburban associate members, brothers, and sisters” in a voicemail.

“There is some valuable pieces of information that I have taken a screenshot of and I’m going to send that to you via email. Trust and believe it will be something that you will appreciate to the utmost,” he added. “Keep in mind, we are trying to maximize your opportunities.”

President Donald Trump signed an executive order within days of taking office that ended the government’s DEI practices. After a deadly mid-air collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines plane, he pointed to the FAA’s DEI policies in particular.

 

Frieda Powers
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