Washington, D.C. – March 12, 2025 – A high-ranking official within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) faces serious allegations of misconduct after leaked audio surfaced, purportedly capturing promises to provide exam answers to minority candidates vying for air traffic controller positions. The revelation, reported by the Daily Mail, has ignited a firestorm of controversy surrounding the agency’s hiring practices and raised questions about the integrity of its recruitment process.
The audio, allegedly recorded in 2014, features Shelton Snow, identified as an air traffic operations supervisor based in New York and a prominent figure in the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE). In the recording, Snow is heard offering to email “valuable pieces of information” to minority applicants, including screenshots of answers to a critical entry exam. “I’m about 99.99 percent sure that it’s exactly how you need to answer each question in order to get through the first phase,” Snow reportedly says in the three-and-a-half-minute clip. The timing of the message aligns with a significant overhaul of FAA hiring protocols under the Obama administration, which aimed to increase diversity among air traffic controllers.
The accusations come amid ongoing scrutiny of the FAA’s past diversity initiatives. Critics have long argued that the agency’s shift from a skills-based aptitude test to a “biographical assessment” in 2013 compromised meritocracy in favor of meeting diversity goals. The biographical questionnaire, later banned by Congress in 2016 through Public Law 114-190, included questions unrelated to aviation expertise—such as participation in high school sports or the age at which candidates first earned money—prompting allegations that it was designed to favor certain demographic groups over highly qualified applicants.
The leaked audio has intensified debates over the FAA’s hiring practices, particularly in the wake of a deadly midair collision on January 29, 2025, near Ronald Reagan National Airport, which claimed 67 lives. While the cause of that crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, some, including President Donald Trump, have pointed to diversity policies as a potential factor in staffing shortages and safety concerns. The FAA has acknowledged a national shortage of air traffic controllers, with efforts underway to recruit and train new hires, but maintains that all certified controllers undergo rigorous screening and training.
Legal action against the FAA has also gained traction. A class-action lawsuit, led by plaintiff Andrew Brigida and supported by the Mountain States Legal Foundation, alleges racial discrimination in the agency’s hiring process. Brigida, who scored 100% on his air traffic controller training exam but was rejected, claims the biographical assessment unfairly sidelined qualified candidates. The case, representing over 1,000 applicants, is slated for trial in 2025 and could set a precedent for how federal agencies balance diversity and merit.
Neither the FAA nor Snow has issued an official response to the leaked audio as of this reporting. The Department of Transportation, which oversees the FAA, declined to comment on the ongoing litigation or the allegations raised by the recording. However, the FAA has previously defended its current hiring standards, stating in an April 2024 statement to Fox News that “every FAA-certified air traffic controller has gone through months of screening and training at the FAA Academy.” 17GEN4.com
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