False Causality

At 8:48 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, January 30, 2025, a U.S. Army helicopter crashed into AA5342, operated by PSA Airlines, while the latter was on final approach to Runway 33 at DCA. There are believed to be no survivors from either aircraft. NTSB is in process of conducting its investigation into the crash. But while we have a vacuum of information about the factors of the crash, people have supplied their own bogus explanations for causes of what happened.

Our cheeto in chief sticks out like a sore thumb in this regard. In his press conference, he weaponized the tragedy by tying it back to his vendetta against federal government DEI hiring initiatives. He strongly implied that DEI hiring could have been a factor in causing the crash.

To make that case, one would have to prove that either the controller overseeing the regional jet and the helicopter, the PSA airlines pilot and first officer, or the helicopter pilot were hired with relaxed qualification standards. It would also have to be proved that their performance records had been sub-standard and yet they were retained in spite of poor job performance. That is not how the aviation sector works. It has strict standards for staff operating in these critical positions directly responsible for overseeing the safety of others' lives. Drawing a line between DEI hiring initiatives and this crash is a complete red herring, entirely a false causality narrative.

Of course, the left is not immune to lapses in sound logic. In the previous days, I've seen multiple retweets of a list of facts deliberately sequenced to suggest that the cheeto's administration played a causal role in the crash. These tweets cite that in the days preceding the crash, the FAA administrator and the TSA administrator were ousted, a federal hiring freeze (including ATC) was instated, and the Aviation Security Advisory Committee was disbanded. The tweets then culminate in the January 30 crash. Even Mary Pete's tweet commenting on the situation suggested a linkage between these occurrences.

This is equally as spurious as the cheeto's arguments. The tweets imply that had these two men not been ousted, ATC hiring been permitted to continue, or the Aviation Security Advisory Committee retained, the January 30 crash might not have happened. None of these conditions would have had any direct role in or control over what happened. The crash would still have happened, even if nothing had been changed from January 19. These stories are complete false causality narratives.

Perhaps those making the aforementioned arguments--internet pseudo-pundits, Mary Pete, incendiary former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, and the cheeto himself--would assert that I'm misinterpreting what they've said. But they juxtaposed their presentation of facts in such a way to guide their readers or listeners toward certain conclusions. It's lazy, it's sloppy, it's trash, it's bogus, and it's infuriating.

And I suppose it's not the faulty arguments themselves that upset me so. It's the fact that so many people think these arguments are credible and are giving them air time.

I had to get this out of my system. I know this is only one of many times in the next four years when garbage logic like this will be put forth for serious consideration.