WEBVTT - Special Report: D.C. Plane Crash 0:00:00.000 --> 0:00:03.079 Hey there, folks, Welcome to a special episode of Amy 0:00:03.120 --> 0:00:06.400 and TJ, a breaking news episode. I guess robes many 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:09.600 people have seen by now the tragedy in DC. A 0:00:09.680 --> 0:00:12.039 plane crash is one thing. The way this happened, a 0:00:12.080 --> 0:00:15.960 collision with an army helicopter. Everybody presumed dead, but we 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:20.960 are getting some new details. Got a lot today, yes, 0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:24.120 from the first responders, but we got a lot from 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:25.439 President Trump today as well. 0:00:26.280 --> 0:00:28.960 Yes, so I know that a lot of folks were 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:33.280 expecting to hear what we know. Of course, the condolences 0:00:33.400 --> 0:00:37.760 going out to the sixty seven people, and the families 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:39.760 and the friends and the folks who are mourning them, 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:42.839 all those condolences, but we weren't expecting to hear from 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:47.040 the president Already some fingerpointing going on and fingerpointing in 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:49.680 a direction that I don't think many people were anticipating. 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:54.560 We heard President Trump today at his press conference squarely 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:59.800 put the blame on DEI policies within the FAA, saying 0:00:59.840 --> 0:01:03.400 that the air traffic controllers that we did not have 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:08.360 our best based on Obama and Biden administration policies that 0:01:08.480 --> 0:01:11.560 we had. We didn't have the brightest, we didn't have 0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:15.160 the folks that we needed to at the HELM or 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:19.720 at least within that agency to make sure that our 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:22.880 planes and our passengers are safe. In fact, he said 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:26.800 that the policies jeopardized the safety of Americans. 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:34.760 This was, I guess, strange surprising. It was maybe somebody 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:37.840 could argue in line, maybe shouldn't have been the surprise. 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:41.880 Given Donald Trump, he has signed executive orders taking DEI 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:45.520 out of pretty much all the federal government, and so 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:49.760 this has been We're not surprised that he would go 0:01:49.800 --> 0:01:52.320 after die policies. It was a little stunning that he 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:54.600 did it the first time. We were hearing from the 0:01:54.600 --> 0:01:57.840 President of the United States, after a damn national tragedy 0:01:57.880 --> 0:01:59.000 that is still playing out on. 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:02.720 Television connected dots that no one was expecting him to 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:08.160 within I mean fifteen hours of the tragedy actually happening 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:12.480 before NTSB investigators actually were able to go through and 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:16.120 they're still going through the wreckage and the evidence that 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:18.720 they're trying to recover from the Potomac, and. 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:21.280 We should say, and we are, I guess we fall 0:02:21.320 --> 0:02:23.240 into it a little bit here, and it's unfortunate, but 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:25.040 it has to be talked about, and I think some 0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:27.760 folks pointed out in the press room, like their bodies 0:02:27.800 --> 0:02:32.320 are still being recovered and blame is being placed on people. 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:34.239 I mean, you talked about DEI policies. We would just 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:36.160 talk to someone a short time ago. We don't know 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:39.200 the race of anybody involved, no, no of any pilot, 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:41.240 of any air traffic control. 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:44.480 We don't have names of anyone involved, any of the 0:02:44.560 --> 0:02:48.200 victims who died at this point as of this recording. 0:02:48.400 --> 0:02:54.160 And so to go ahead and place blame was it 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:56.200 was shocking. I think that is a word that a 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:57.000 lot of folks. 0:02:56.800 --> 0:03:00.520 Used, and so I want to be clear not putting 0:03:00.520 --> 0:03:02.639 words in the president's mouth. How many of you might 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:04.160 have seen it by now, but we want to be 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:06.919 clear on what the president said. Again, he walked into 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:10.000 the briefing room himself and made some opening statements, but 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:12.680 he then took questions from the media. There. He was 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:16.520 asked directly if he is saying that diversity policies are 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:19.600 to blame for the crash. This is a direct quote, 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:24.040 it just could have been. He was asked again later, 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:27.680 how can you be sure that DEI is responsible and 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:31.640 played a role in the crash? His answer, because I 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:35.800 have common sense. So this set off a different conversation 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:38.480 when we should have been having the only conversation, which 0:03:38.600 --> 0:03:43.240 is I guess sending love to those families, to the 0:03:43.280 --> 0:03:46.760 US military that lost as well. But instead another group 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:49.040 of folks felt attacked by the President in this moment. 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:52.640 You know, and typically when we have national tragedies, and 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:56.400 this was certainly one. This is an aviation tragedy that 0:03:56.440 --> 0:04:00.160 we haven't seen in this country in decades. So this 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:05.960 sort of event is shocking, it's traumatizing, but oftentimes it's 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:09.040 unifying because we come together as a nation. We come 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:12.200 together as a country and figure out what went wrong 0:04:12.320 --> 0:04:15.160 and what went right, and how to make sure that 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:19.320 we massively limit or make sure this never happens again. 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:23.040 And that is typically the direction we see our leaders 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:26.320 take us in these moments, and we went in a 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:31.000 completely different direction unexpectedly today when we heard from President 0:04:31.000 --> 0:04:31.760 Trump we. 0:04:31.760 --> 0:04:34.160 Must have only the highest standards for those who work 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:39.400 in our aviation system. I changed the Obama standards from 0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:44.760 very mediocre at best to extraordinary. You remember that only 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:50.800 the highest aptitude have to be the highest intellect and 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:56.680 psychologically superior people were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers. 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:01.680 That was not so prior to getting there. When I 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:05.360 arrived in twenty sixteen, I made that change very early 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:08.080 on because I always felt this was a job and 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:10.400 other jobs too, but this was a job that had 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:15.400 to be superior intelligence and we didn't really have that, 0:05:15.560 --> 0:05:19.760 and we had it. And then when I left office 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:23.560 and Biden took over, he changed them back to lower 0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:29.359 than ever before. I put safety first. Obama, Biden and 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:34.880 the Democrats put policy first, and they put politics at 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:39.479 a level that nobody's ever seen because this was the 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:40.239 lowest level. 0:05:40.960 --> 0:05:42.840 Yeah, of course we can have a DII debate the 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:46.599 country should Why not have that debate? And that's fine, 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:50.279 just the moment to have it through a lot of 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:54.920 people off guard today, but the focus will remain on 0:05:54.960 --> 0:05:57.160 this strategy for quite some time. They have told us 0:05:57.160 --> 0:06:00.880 they expect the search. They went from a search and 0:06:00.920 --> 0:06:04.359 rescue to simply a recovery effort that happened earlier in 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:07.720 the day today, which is Thursday, but the work will 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:11.480 continue for several days. We have been talking to several 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:15.719 folks to get their expertise, and also one in particular 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:19.800 that you're going to hear from was a witness. A 0:06:19.839 --> 0:06:22.680 witness robes I think. He says he watched his planes 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:25.520 take off and land from that airport all the time, 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:28.040 but of course this was something he never thought he'd 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:28.559 see before. 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:31.640 Yeah, he has a rooftop in Arlington. He said he 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:33.800 can walk to Bake a national airport, and so he 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:34.960 was out there. It was a little bit of a 0:06:35.000 --> 0:06:39.360 warmer night last night on Thursday night, excuse me, Wednesday night, 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:44.120 and he happened to see the unthinkable. It was an 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:46.360 unimaginable moment to witness something like that. 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:48.360 So you're going to hear our conversation with him. You'll 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:51.040 also hear our conversation with two pilots. One of them 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:55.080 happens to be part of an organization that does work 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:58.400 to promote diversity and is very much involved in DEI. 0:06:58.440 --> 0:07:01.480 You'll hear his reaction to what he heard the president say, 0:07:01.560 --> 0:07:05.800 and also explain why diversity is a positive and has 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:10.080 never he made his point several times, never been attributed 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:12.040 to being the cause of any. 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:15.880 Any incident, any accident, and certainly not a tragedy on 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:16.720 this scale. 0:07:16.880 --> 0:07:19.480 And then finally you'll hear from another pilot that we 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:21.880 talked to and Ropes he said he's actually going to 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:25.160 change some of his practices because of what happened in 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:25.679 this stretchy. 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:28.920 Yeah, he said that he is going to when he 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:32.760 lands his planes, he's going to behave differently after what 0:07:32.920 --> 0:07:35.960 happened and after what he's heard from other pilots. And 0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:40.000 certainly as we get more information from the wreckage, the 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:42.520 black boxes, they haven't been found yet as of this recording, 0:07:43.040 --> 0:07:44.960 there will be I'm sure more changes, not only that 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:48.960 pilots individually will make, but certainly policies within this country. 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:51.320 But we thank you for coming to the podcast. We 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:53.440 thank you for listening, and so we are going to 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:56.680 now send you to the interviews with those three men 0:07:56.840 --> 0:08:01.160 we just described. Joining us now is Tennessee Garvey. He 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:04.120 is a pilot at United Airlines First Officer where he 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:08.040 flies the Boeing seven seven seventies. Also the chairman of 0:08:08.080 --> 0:08:11.200 the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals. 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:12.160 Tennessee. 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:13.560 Thank you for being with us today. 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:16.480 Oh, thank you, Amy, Thanks TJ for having me. It's 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:17.320 a pleasure being here. 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:20.720 I know you have been following the events, the tragic 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:24.920 events of the last twenty four hours, and I'm sure 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:29.440 you watched and followed President Trump's press conference this afternoon 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:32.600 I'll first ask you just what your impressions, what your 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:34.400 reactions were to what he had to say. 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:39.839 Well, Kendily, my mouth was a jar. You know, it 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:43.400 was just the events that happened. First and foremost, by 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:45.600 heart goes out to the families because you know, there 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:48.640 are six to seven lives lost and you know the 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:52.560 impact of that can never ever be nicated. So you know, 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:56.080 our heart just goes to the families, you know, with 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:59.040 the Trump with President Trump, you know talking about you 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:01.800 know DEI, you know, being the cause or being a 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:06.200 contributing factor. There's really nothing further from the truth. You know, 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:09.440 over the years, we've enjoyed a very robust safety culture 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:11.480 here within the United States, especial when it comes on 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:14.840 to aviation. And you know, just like with any incident 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:17.920 or accident, you know there's a process to you know, 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:20.200 you know, with the investigation and you know to try 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:22.520 to find that cause. But you know, to come on 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:26.240 the forefront with no evidence and with nothing you know 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:29.120 to reference, it's it's very dishearten disheartening. 0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:33.160 Can you explain to folks, And let's get it straight, 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:35.640 most of us are not looking at the qualifications where 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:38.840 air traffic controllers on a daily basis, right, so we're 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:42.199 we're not familiar. But what can you explain what he's 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:45.400 he's talking about in suggesting because there was a change 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:49.520 in criteria for applicants that I think you can help 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:51.280 me on the years. I know you know it twenty fourteen, 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:55.240 twenty sixteen, But can you help folks and explain what 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:58.359 the president was talking about when he says the standards 0:09:58.360 --> 0:10:01.560 were changed and his words lowered, but there's a change 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:05.800 in the standards for the applicants to become air traffic controllers. 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:07.880 What I do know is that you know, when it 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:11.320 comes to, you know, becoming under traffic controller, the attrition 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:14.640 rate TJ is is very high. So you know there's 0:10:14.679 --> 0:10:16.760 so many hands that you know, they raise their hands 0:10:16.800 --> 0:10:19.800 there they apply and to go through the process. But 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:23.800 the process is such that you know, not everyone makes 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:26.240 it through. It's just one of those errors where you 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:30.320 know it's the training program is very rigorous, and you know, 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:33.080 the reality is, you know, only the best of the 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:36.280 best make it through to the very end. So irrespective 0:10:36.320 --> 0:10:40.440 of you know, your gender, your race, your religion, creed, 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:44.960 the process, the program doesn't factor any of that in, 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:47.600 so you still all have to apply, you still have 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:49.560 to be you know, you still have to meet the 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:53.640 qualifications required, and the program is just designed such that 0:10:54.240 --> 0:10:56.280 only the best of the best will actually make it 0:10:56.280 --> 0:10:57.160 through to the very end. 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:00.920 So what was your reaction then? And Trump said that 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:07.800 the FAA has prioritized individuals with disabilities and other marginalized 0:11:07.840 --> 0:11:14.560 groups overqualified candidates, which therefore jeopardized the safety of everyone 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:15.720 who flies. 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:21.000 It was, it was very disappointing. Amy. So, you know, 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:25.360 going back again to the training programs, So right now 0:11:25.800 --> 0:11:29.040 under the Biden administration, there's there's a conscientious effort to 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:31.520 ensure that there are no barriers that existed for those 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:34.000 that mean when to pursue a career within aviation airspace. 0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:37.800 And you know, Trump has since recented that, you know, 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:41.840 via an executive order, but you know, there's so many 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:46.079 barriers that tend to exist within aviation airspace, going back 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:48.839 to even when our organization was founded, which is back 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:52.120 in seventy six. You know, when the Tuskegee Airmen were 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:56.000 transitioning out of you know, World War Two, only one 0:11:56.040 --> 0:12:00.280 to Skigee airmen actually made it to commercial aviation, and 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:02.680 that was simply because our barriers that existed back then. 0:12:03.200 --> 0:12:07.280 Organization like ours is really geared towards workforce development, and 0:12:07.360 --> 0:12:10.520 our focus is to create an access to the underrepresented communities. 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:16.000 So our aviation industry is very robust. But however, there's 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:18.920 still a lack of representation in certain areas of aviation 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:22.720 and aerospace, and organizations like US is really just geared 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:26.480 towards workforce development and for those that may have, you know, 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:30.120 the desire to pursecure within aviation aerospace, we're trying to 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:33.720 create opportunities and provide access. We're not lowering to standards. 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:37.840 We're not lowering to barriers. Again, you know, to my 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:41.640 earlier point. If anything, anytime there's an incident, accident within 0:12:41.720 --> 0:12:45.360 this industry, we're all about safety. We're all about learning 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:48.320 from it and you know, put in processes or policies 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:51.240 in place to help us be safer on the back end, 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:53.960 which I know we will do with this with this event. 0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:54.480 Yeah. 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:58.439 But then I say, you said you aren't lowering standards, 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:01.240 But how do you convent the public of that when 0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:03.760 the President of the United States stands up and says, 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:07.440 this accident is deadly accident may have happened because we 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:13.640 lowered standards letting too many diverse folks in. That's that's 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:20.680 directly almost attributing this crash is deadly crash to the 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:22.600 diverse group of folks getting opportunities. 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:25.840 So I would my response to that TJ is, well, 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:28.360 let's look at it twofold. Let's first look at look 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:31.760 at it statistically. Statistically, you know, polots out look like 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:35.160 myself represent only four percent of commercial pilots flying within 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:38.440 the industry. So out of every hundred pilots, only four 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:41.520 of us look like myself. When you talk about black 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:46.640 African women, props beelw one percent. So there is the numbers. 0:13:46.800 --> 0:13:49.679 So you know, in terms of you know, diversity impact 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:54.360 and safety, there's really no correlation. And then secondly, let's 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:58.839 look at historical data. There hasn't been any accident or 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:02.040 any incident that can and be attributed to DEI. We've 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:04.960 never seen it as a contributing factor. We've never seen 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:08.559 it as you know, the soul cause it's just never happened. 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:13.720 So to say, you know, diverse individuals are compromised in safety, 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:16.720 that is not true. It's not statistically true, it's not 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:20.600 historically true. What I will say is when it comes 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:25.960 to organization like ours, our ethos is inspiring excellence, even 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:29.160 though our hashtag is oh about excellence. So for those 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:32.520 that want to pursue a current aviation aerospace, we're here 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:34.440 to support you, we're here to mint you through all 0:14:34.480 --> 0:14:38.000 the way, and we're all about workforce development, but at 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:41.280 every step of the way, we're all about inspiring excellence. 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:44.640 So whenever you see somebody who looks like myself, you know, 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:46.960 whether they're in air traffic controller or they're a pilot, 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:51.040 just know that they're they've been trained to the very 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:55.240 highest level of safety possible because we're all about excellence. 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:59.440 Tennessee, it was interesting hearing you very clearly state there 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:03.360 is never been any sort of accident or incident aviation 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:08.080 accident or incident attributed to any sort of DEI policy. 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:11.000 So when you heard the president, and we know that 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:13.720 those policies are now under fire with all of the 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:16.800 executive orders he's signed, but still, when you heard the 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:21.760 president today, were you expecting him to go there? Oh? 0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:26.320 Absolutely not. Again, anytime there is a major event where 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:30.200 there's loss of life involved, the first thoughts go to 0:15:30.320 --> 0:15:33.400 are their survivors, what happened and how can we learn 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:39.200 from this? Nowhere in that does anyone ever think about, 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:43.160 you know, skin color was the cause. And to hear 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:47.520 you know, what's being you know, basically presented, which I 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:51.120 really think is just you know, furthering an agenda is 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:54.560 to say that DEI you know, is a cause. And 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:58.440 it's again it's just very disheartening because for those of 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:02.760 us that were very passionate about aviation and aviation safety. Again, 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:06.480 you know, they were still recovering bodies from the river 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:10.760 when he said that, So it really it just left 0:16:10.800 --> 0:16:13.760 a lot of us just we were just stunned. 0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:18.840 But how do you combat no matter what facts you have, Tennessee, 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:22.360 he has a much bigger microphone than you do, how 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:26.680 do you combat now what will now be a continued 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:31.240 swelling of a perception. I would argue, of this idea 0:16:31.400 --> 0:16:34.680 that DEI is bad, and now then we'll be able 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:37.360 to point to DEI is so bad that it's deadly. 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:41.560 How are you messaging wise, just going to go about 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:43.440 convincing the public that that ain't the truth. 0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:47.320 So you make a great point, teacher, in the sense 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:51.400 that DEI, from my perspective, has been weaponized, and you 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:54.160 know it's not for us to you know, to fight 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:57.200 that fight in the sense that you know, I'm all 0:16:57.240 --> 0:16:59.440 about you know, a lot of our works, you know, 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:03.440 show for itself. So our focus is workforce development, and 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:06.400 our focus is create an opportunity, is for the underrepresented, 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:09.840 and our focus will always be, you know, providing access. 0:17:10.359 --> 0:17:14.320 So the narrative might be, hey, DEI is bad, but 0:17:14.480 --> 0:17:17.040 our goal is to still, you know, stay true to 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:19.920 our mission and still you know, for those that look 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:23.640 like myself and our minorities within the space, we are 0:17:23.640 --> 0:17:26.640 going to work to make their dreams become careers, irrespective 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:32.120 of the noise with d I. Because again, statistically, there's 0:17:32.160 --> 0:17:35.440 nothing to suggest that DEI is bad having somebody diverse. 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:39.639 If anything, what we've seen and learned in corporate culture 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:42.800 is d I is good. The companies that thrive throughout 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:47.399 because they enjoy diverse workforce. So our goal is not 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:51.360 to go into a fight or you know, to try 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:54.080 to change the narrative of what DEI is. We're all 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:56.840 about just our works and we're all about creating access 0:17:56.840 --> 0:18:00.439 and created opportunities. But underneath all of that, it's all 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:01.680 about inspiring excellence. 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:07.240 Tennessee, I know your first response and all of ours 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:10.520 has been as well. Is just this gutted, awful feeling 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:14.960 of the loss of life and just how horrific so 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:18.480 many Americans are feeling right now as they're learning the 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:21.720 news and realizing that they're never going to see their 0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:26.040 loved ones again. That is the focus. Does it feel 0:18:26.080 --> 0:18:32.000 somewhat surreal to be already defending a program that you 0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:37.440 so passionately have made your life's work and to imagine 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:39.480 that there's already finger pointing at this point. I'm just 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:44.280 curious where your head is given all that we actually 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:46.920 typically would be focused on today, at this early hour, 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:49.240 at this early point in the tragedy. 0:18:50.400 --> 0:18:53.280 So, you know, like Oshrian earlier with my colleagues, I've 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:55.960 been in this space for twenty two years, never have 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:58.720 seen anything like this, especially in terms of the response 0:18:58.840 --> 0:19:02.359 to an accident like that. So you know, to pivot 0:19:02.400 --> 0:19:05.440 from you know, are there any survivors to where we're 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:09.480 now talking DEI. It hasn't even been twenty four hours. 0:19:09.720 --> 0:19:14.040 It's it's it's it's just stunning. It's it's stunning, and 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:17.280 it's just, you know, it's it's unfortunately that we're even 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:20.960 in this space even having this conversation, because you know, 0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:24.879 first and foremost, you know the lives of those involved, 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:28.600 especially the military. You know, they're just a routine training mission, 0:19:29.240 --> 0:19:31.280 and you know here we have a major loss of 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:37.240 life event. The focus should always be on that d I. 0:19:37.600 --> 0:19:39.480 I don't even know who the names of the pilots are. 0:19:39.920 --> 0:19:42.840 So to even say DEI is a thing? How can 0:19:42.880 --> 0:19:45.480 we even you know, bring that into the conversation when 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:49.439 they have any released photos of the cruise so you know, 0:19:49.440 --> 0:19:52.240 whether it's the air traffic controller or whether it's the pilots. 0:19:52.800 --> 0:19:55.040 You know, it's like we're trying to spend a narrative, 0:19:55.480 --> 0:19:58.840 but we don't, like, do we know if they're you know, 0:19:58.880 --> 0:20:01.959 what their backgrounds are? I don't, so I find it 0:20:02.080 --> 0:20:06.840 very discoursion that again we would even try to say, hey, 0:20:07.080 --> 0:20:11.320 deis involve when they're still overcovering to bodies. 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:14.680 Tennesse, you can I ask you one last and this 0:20:15.200 --> 0:20:18.080 on your expertise as a pilot, can you help those 0:20:18.160 --> 0:20:22.439 of us understand a little better a pilot trying to 0:20:22.560 --> 0:20:27.119 land there at Reagan on exactly the flight path he's 0:20:27.119 --> 0:20:29.119 supposed to be on and lined up with that on 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:34.120 that final approach, it's dark, it's pitch black. How much 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:37.359 can a pilot see going at that speed. Do you 0:20:37.440 --> 0:20:41.399 do you have any time to react? I suppose or 0:20:41.440 --> 0:20:45.800 are you completely dependent on that air traffic controller to 0:20:45.840 --> 0:20:46.800 tell you where you need to be. 0:20:47.920 --> 0:20:51.840 So I really try not to quarterback. You know these 0:20:51.880 --> 0:20:54.600 things I have flown into the airport, I've phoned that 0:20:54.680 --> 0:20:57.360 exact approach. So to your question of you know, what 0:20:57.440 --> 0:21:01.000 can you see at night? So from understanding, they're clared 0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:03.600 for the visual approach to runway one and then they 0:21:03.600 --> 0:21:06.399 would later ask if they could circle the land on 0:21:06.520 --> 0:21:10.919 runway three three. It's very routine thing, nothing abnormal about it. 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:13.679 And you know the pilots, you know, they're in a 0:21:13.720 --> 0:21:16.120 position where they could safely make that manever to land 0:21:16.200 --> 0:21:20.160 on you know, runway three three. So usually at night, 0:21:20.280 --> 0:21:23.280 you know, it's it's a shared responsibility with the pilot 0:21:23.320 --> 0:21:26.080 with air traffic to making sure that space, that airspace 0:21:26.160 --> 0:21:29.400 is safe. One thing I will say is that air 0:21:29.480 --> 0:21:32.760 within the Potomac River it's a very busy airspace. You 0:21:32.800 --> 0:21:35.360 do have flights taken off the land and in Reagan, 0:21:35.840 --> 0:21:38.560 but at the same time it's a very heavily trafficked area. 0:21:38.560 --> 0:21:41.480 When it comes on to low level flying helicopters an 0:21:41.520 --> 0:21:44.480 aircraft because there's a V four quarter that exists right 0:21:44.480 --> 0:21:48.399 within that area. So it's it's a shared responsibility. And 0:21:48.720 --> 0:21:51.119 you know, I know with crews, we have systems on 0:21:51.160 --> 0:21:54.840 board that help us see and avoid other aircraft. But 0:21:54.960 --> 0:21:56.920 as you get closer to the ground, whenever you come 0:21:56.960 --> 0:22:01.280 into land, that system becomes inhibited. So you know, it 0:22:01.359 --> 0:22:03.720 may have you know, alerted the crew to our traffic, 0:22:04.240 --> 0:22:06.680 but you know, if they're at a montraaltitude, would have 0:22:06.720 --> 0:22:09.960 given them a resolution advisory, so whether to climb or 0:22:10.000 --> 0:22:12.680 to pitch. But you know, because they're so low into 0:22:12.680 --> 0:22:15.679 the ground where we're talking four hundred feet, that system 0:22:15.720 --> 0:22:19.200 at that point would normally be inhibited. But again going 0:22:19.240 --> 0:22:22.399 back to the tapes, and you know, somewhere along the 0:22:22.440 --> 0:22:25.680 liner is a loss of visual separation. It's a very 0:22:26.320 --> 0:22:28.680 you know, the the approach that they were shooting again, 0:22:28.760 --> 0:22:31.600 it's a it's a published procedure. There is nothing abnormal, 0:22:32.200 --> 0:22:35.240 but you know, somewhere along the liner's loss of separation. 0:22:35.520 --> 0:22:39.000 So there's a lot to learn because the focus is 0:22:39.080 --> 0:22:42.240 really to not let this happen once again, which again 0:22:42.280 --> 0:22:46.119 it's so unfortunate that instead of focusing on that, you know, 0:22:46.200 --> 0:22:48.720 we're having conversations that I wish, you know, we really 0:22:48.720 --> 0:22:50.480 shouldn't be having, especially so soon. 0:22:51.800 --> 0:22:57.000 Well we Tennessee. We so appreciate your experience and expertise 0:22:57.320 --> 0:23:00.000