Civil Rights Groups Slam Comments By Elon Musk Claiming Diversity Efforts Make Flying Less Safe – Essence

Elon Musks comments on efforts by United Airlines and Boeing to diversify their workforces have drawn swift criticism from major civil rights organizations.

Musk claimed, without evidence, that the efforts of those airlines to hire nonwhite pilots and factory workers have made air travel less safe.

Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, called Musks statements abhorrent and pathetic. Morial pointed out that Tesla, where Musk is CEO, is facing a lawsuit from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for alleged abuse of Black employees, including racial slurs and nooses found in the workplace.

Musks company not only refused to investigate complaints or take any steps to end the abuse, it viciously retaliated against employees who complained or opposed the abuse, Morial told NBC News, citing allegations from the suit. The only thing anyone needs to hear from Musk about diversity in the workplace is an apology, he said.

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson responded to Musk on X, stating that the real danger comes from Musks own social media site, accusing it of providing a platform for hate speech and white supremacist conspiracy theories. Johnson emphasized the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (commonly referred to as DEI) for cultivating a more inclusive society.

Reminder to @elonmusk: providing a home for the proliferation of hate speech and white supremacist conspiracy theories kills people. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion cultivate a more inclusive society, Johnsonwrote.

They are not the same. We are not the same, he added.

Musks comments on airline safety came after a panel blew off a Boeing jet while in flight. Musk began discussing the topic on X in response to a user who speculated that the IQ scores of United Airlines pilots from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were somehow lower than the average IQ of Air Force pilots.

He criticized programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, suggesting that it would take a plane crash with hundreds of casualties to change such policies.

Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized DEI hiring over your safety? That is actually happening, Musk wrote.

Its important to note that commercial aviation is the safest it has ever been, with a record low number of accidents and fatalities in 2023, according to Dutch air-safety groupTo70. However, near-collisions at US airports remain a source of concern,reports NBC News.

According to the news outlet, neither United nor Boeing have commented on Musks claims.

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Civil Rights Groups Slam Comments By Elon Musk Claiming Diversity Efforts Make Flying Less Safe - Essence

Stratolaunch’s huge Roc plane flies with fueled-up hypersonic vehicle for 1st time (photos) – Space.com

The world's biggest airplane took to the skies over the weekend with a new type of payload under its expansive wings.

Stratolaunch's Roc carrier plane conducted its first-ever captive-carry flight with a powered and fueled-up hypersonic test vehicle on Sunday (Dec. 3).

The main goal was to evaluate the propulsion system of that vehicle the first of Stratolaunch's robotic Talon-A craft, known as TA-1 and to see more generally how it behaves while being carried in flight, company representatives said.

"Talon-A's propulsion system supports a liquid-propellant rocket engine that provides the thrust needed for Talon-A to reach hypersonic speeds," Stratolaunch CEO Zachary Krevor said in a statement on Sunday.

"While we have conducted several successful ground tests fueling and igniting the system, we needed to evaluate how the system performs in the flight environment prior to release," he added. "Initial results from today's flight show that the system has performed as predicted, and we will determine our next steps pending the full data review of the test."

Related: Stratolaunch test photos: The world's largest plane in action

Sunday's flight was the 12th overall for Roc, which has a wingspan of 385 feet (117 meters). The huge, twin-fuselage plane had last flown in May of this year, when it performed its first-ever drop test with a Talon prototype.

Roc stayed aloft for three hours and 22 minutes on Sunday's sortie, which originated from the Mojave Air and Space Port in Southern California. TA-1 stayed attached to its carrier plane from liftoff to landing.

The flight "represented a significant step forward in the company's near-term goal of completing a powered flight with the Talon-A vehicle," company representatives said in the same statement.

Stratolaunch was founded by Microsoft's Paul Allen in 2011. The initial aim was to air-launch rockets from high in Earth's atmosphere, much as Virgin Galactic sends tourists aloft using its WhiteKnightTwo carrier plane and VSS Unity spaceliner.

But in 2019, a year after Allen's death, the company's focus shifted: It now intends to use Roc as a platform for hypersonic research and development. (Hypersonic vehicles are highly maneuverable craft capable of flying at least five times faster than the speed of sound.)

The reusable Talon-A craft will be Stratolaunch's first line of hypersonic vehicles, though others are in the offing; the company's website also teases a Talon+ vehicle, as well as a space plane.

Stratolaunch has already inked some customers for its hypersonic services. Last week, for example, the company announced that it had signed a contract with Leidos, the prime contractor for the U.S. Navy's Multiservice Advanced Capability Test Bed (MACH-TB). The deal funds five hypersonic flights with Talon-A vehicles.

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Stratolaunch's huge Roc plane flies with fueled-up hypersonic vehicle for 1st time (photos) - Space.com