The Federal Aviation Administration is facing a large class-action lawsuit over allegations that it threw out 1,000 would-be air traffic controllers jobs because of the race of the applicants during former President Barack Obama's administration.

The lawsuit was filed back in 2015, but resurfaced this week amid concern over hiring practices among air traffic controllers in the wake of the plane collision with a helicopter on Wednesday that killed all 64 people on the plane and three people on the helicopter. 

The crash took place near Washington, D.C. and occurred while one controller allegedly worked two jobs because one controller was allowed to leave work early. The sole controller handled air traffic for both planes and helicopters during the collision. 

The major lawsuit was filed on behalf of Andrew Brigida, a white man who claimed that he was discriminated against based on his race, after he was rejected for an air traffic control job despite graduating from Arizona State University’s training initiative in 2013, and scoring 100% on his training exam, according to the New York Post.

The lawsuit centers on allegations that the FAA, during the Obama administration, dropped a skill-based system for hiring controllers and replaced it with a “biographical assessment” to boost the number of minority applicants.

The FAA dropped the biographical assessment in 2018 and all applicants must take the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) now.

"Every FAA-certified air traffic controller has gone through months of screening and training at the FAA Academy, and that is before another 18-24 months of training to learn specific regions and airspaces," the FAA told Fox Business in 2024. "There is a well-known national shortage of air traffic controllers, and the FAA has ramped up outreach to ensure no talent is left on the table.

"We are accelerating the pace of recruiting, training, and hiring to meet demand, while maintaining the highest qualification standards," the administration added.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.