Free Republic

Some aviation experts argue the FAA’s focus on ‘diversity’ instead of ’merit' in hiring pilots and controllers is leading to serious safety concerns... As the U.S. Justice Department decides whether to pursue a criminal case against Boeing, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating dozens of airplane incidents since January, including one in which a Swiss Air jet almost collided with four other planes on the runway at JFK International Airport in New York City. The FAA has more than 100 aviation accidents and incidents since the beginning of 2024. These include airplane and helicopter crashes, equipment and mechanical malfunctions,...

Top aides to Biden secretly hatched a plan this past fall to replace White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre by recruiting outside allies to nudge her out the door ... Jean-Pierre, who made history in May 2022 by becoming the first black and first openly gay person to hold the position, had developed the exasperating habit of reading canned answers directly from a binder to reporters at her regular briefings — offering what her superiors viewed as a less-than-compelling pitch for the 81-year-old Biden as he readied his re-election campaign. De facto White House communications chief Anita Dunn, 66, the...

Southwest Airlines issued a press statement Thursday declaring their intention to fire around 2,000 employees and cancel service to four airports following financial difficulties. “[W]e are implementing cost control initiatives, including limiting hiring and offering voluntary time off programs. We now expect to end 2024 with approximately 2,000 fewer Employees as compared with the end of 2023,” Bob Jordan, the president and CEO of Southwest Airlines ... Jordan also announced that the company was shutting down its service to three airports in the United States and one in Mexico. “[W]e have made the difficult decision to close our operations at...

Program will address ‘insidious problem’ with racism in medicine: nurses association Nursing students at the University of Illinois soon will receive “diversity, equity, and inclusion” training via virtual reality courtesy of a $20,000 grant to address racism. The American Nurses Association, which awarded the grant through its National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing, says the funds will address an “insidious problem” with racism in nursing. But other medical professionals and scholars say the project is a waste of money. The university’s College of Nursing plans to use the grant to hire a software engineer to create virtual reality training...

An armed U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President Kamala Harris‘s protective detail fought unarmed with other detail agents on Monday morning. The incident occurred at the Washington, D.C.-area Andrews Air Force Base, before Harris arrived, and after the agent suffered what the Secret Service has characterized as a medical incident. The Washington Examiner is aware of the agent’s name and specific detail responsibilities but is withholding those details for privacy reasons. The Washington Examiner understands that the agent became aggressive with other agents. When the special agent in charge and a detail shift supervisor attempted to calm the...

In an effort to address a barrage of noise complaints, Milan is preparing to ban late-night snacks. This war on ice cream isn’t new, and does not sit well with many... The Italian city of Milan is proposing a new law to ban ice cream after midnight, in an effort to protect the "peace and health" of residents. A legislative starting paper has been filed by the city's local government. If passed, the new law could come into effect next month and last until November – something which local vendors will not be best pleased about, considering they are accustomed...

Swiss Air flight aborts takeoff from JFK, safely leaves minutes later... A Swiss Air flight traveling from New York City to Zurich last week had to abort takeoff, averting a "potentially dangerous situation," the airline confirmed. Flight LX17 from John F. Kennedy Airport left the gate at 4:21 p.m. April 17, according to FlightAware. The aircraft was cleared for takeoff at the same time an air traffic controller on another frequency cleared four other jets to cross the runway, according to audio obtained by NPR. "Due to the high level of situational awareness and quick reaction of our crew, a...

Are you aware that there have been two near-catastrophes at major American airports (DC Reagan and NY JFK) where airplanes were cleared to cross runways as another airplane was taking off? A runway collision on takeoff is almost by definition the deadliest form of airline disaster, since two or more airplanes, at least one fueled up for the coming journey, collide at takeoff speed, likely engulfing them in fireballs. That is how the deadliest airline disaster in history, happened in Tenerife, killing 583 people. The first incident took place last Thursday, April 18, at Reagan National Airport when the tower...

Dr. Phil McGraw has urged people to plan their resistance against the next time the government attempts to lock down the civilian population. Addressing the audience on his eponymous show, McGraw explained how he had been demonized for his stance against the tyrannical COVID lockdowns but has since been proven right. Now, McGraw is urging people to prepare for the next time governments attempt to shut the schools and place an entire population under house arrest: When I stepped up in the beginning and said this lockdown is going to create more problems with quality of life than COVID is...

That’s taking time when they go in for their upgrades, and that’s taking a little bit longer than expected.. We have been documenting the U.S. Navy’s troubles with one of its premier amphibious assault ships, USS Boxer (LHD-4). This Wasp-Class ship, per the Navy’s description, is “[t]he largest of all amphibious warfare ships [and] resembles a small aircraft carrier.” It is capable of Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) fighter jet operations, meaning that because Boxer does not have launch catapults, it can’t launch classic aircraft carrier fighter jets like the F/A-18, but it can launch the venerable Harrier jump jet...

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft took a road trip Tuesday before its May 6 liftoff, moving from the Kennedy Space Center to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Starliner boarded a transporter at the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center on Monday. Final checks were completed Tuesday for the short trip to the United Launch Alliance's Vertical Integration Facility at the Space Force station. "The Atlas V will receive its precious cargo today as the Boeing Space Starliner spacecraft is transported to ULA's Vertical Integration Facility and lifted onto the rocket," ULA said on X. Astronauts Butch Wilmore...

Authorities are investigating the events that led up to the ships crash into the bridge, causing the collapse. ... The FBI has opened up a criminal investigation into the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland after a boat crashed into it last month. ... The boat reportedly lost power briefly before veering one of the bridge's support, sending the bridge cascading into the water below. Six lives were lost. On Monday, federal agents boarded the crashed boat to conduct a search. Agents wore yellow and orange life jackets as they boarded the Dali, standing where it...

University of Texas which was laying off around 60 employees in order to belatedly comply with a state law prohibiting DEI. I say belatedly because the law in question took effect at the beginning of the year but it seems UT's first reaction wasn't to get rid of DEI offices and employees but instead to simply rebrand them. For instance, at the University of Texas the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement was renamed the Division of Campus and Community Engagement. But one of the authors of SB 17, the Texas DEI prohibition, caught wind of what was happening and...

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the State Department's new senior DEI hire will "destroy" the foreign affairs agency and make America "less safe" in an interview Friday with Fox News Digital. Zakiya Carr Johnson was hired by the State Department last week as chief officer of diversity, equity and inclusion. Fox News Digital exposed her past anti-American remarks, including her saying the U.S. represented a "failed historical model" embedded with racism, colonialism and other isms. Carr Johnson has also called for tradition to be dismantled. Pompeo believes Carr Johnson's hire was part of the "Biden administration's core commitment…...

From corporate boardrooms to college campuses, there are growing signs that conservatives are turning the tide in the battle against so-called “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” policies. In the most recent setback for the DEI movement, the University of Texas at Austin announced on April 2 that it was laying off dozens of employees in compliance with a new state law which effectively bans DEI programs at state-funded institutions. In addition to outlawing DEI offices, the Texas law prohibits schools from requiring students and faculty to submit “DEI statements.” A month prior, the University of Florida also announced that it was...

The American Medical Association today insists that medicine is characterized by white supremacy.

Increase includes vice chancellor for diversity, other DEI positions The University of Nebraska at Lincoln added more than 350 new positions in the past decade – nearly all of them administrative – while student enrollment numbers remained steady... Among the new hires is a vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion. His salary for the current year is $267,585 .. During the 2022-23 school year, the most recent data available, the public university’s Lincoln campus employed 4,014 full-time administrators and support staff... In 2013-2014, IPEDS data shows UNL employed 3,720 administrators and support staff – meaning it added 294 administrative positions...

The Biden administration's new State Department diversity chief previously called America a "failed historic model" and demanded the destruction of tradition "at every juncture" on the altar of antiracism. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced last week the appointment of Zakiya Carr Johnson as their chief diversity and inclusion officer. Blinken touted Carr Johnson for bringing "expertise and a fresh perspective on how we build a workforce that reflects America." Carr Johnson previously served as then-President Barack Obama's senior adviser and director of the first Race, Ethnicity and Social Inclusion Unit at the State Department.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 flight to Houston returns to Denver after engine cover tears away during takeoff

A Virgin Atlantic 787 has collided with a British Airways Airbus A350 while pushing back from the terminal building at Heathrow airport causing minor damage to both aircraft. The Virgin jet was being guided by a tug when its winglets struck the tail of the neighbouring BA jet. Emergency services raced to the scene following the low-speed impact. A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: 'We are aware that the wingtip of one of our empty aircraft came into contact with another aircraft whilst being towed from the stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3. 'The safety of our customers and crew is...