Right-wing media blame Boeing door blowout on FAA for hiring people with intellectual disabilities

Right-wing media figures are blaming Federal Aviation Administration guidelines that promote hiring people with intellectual disabilities for a Boeing jet’s midair equipment failure earlier this month.

On January 5, a “mid cabin door plug” blew out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 while the jet was in midair, the latest incident in an alarming history of manufacturing problems at the aviation giant. The incident is now under investigation by the FAA, but conservative pundits have been quick to claim that the event wasn’t the result of a huge corporation potentially skirting federal regulations. In their telling,...