Nathan Fielder Slams the House Committee on Transportation
Nathan Fielder’s march toward aviation-policy reform continues. Following a CNN segment on May 29 in which the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the airline-safety issues Fielder raised in the second season of The Rehearsal with an unsatisfying comment Fielder labeled “dumb,” another aviation-governing body has weighed in. On June 4, Fielder’s theory that communication disconnects between pilots and first officers — and poor training on how to navigate said disconnects — is to blame for most airplane crashes was raised during an assembly of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and it was once again dismissed with a perfunctory reply.
Representative Steve Cohen, a member of the aviation subcommittee who Fielder unsuccessfully raised this issue with in episode five of the new season, brought up Fielder’s concerns with Captain Jody Reven, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, and Reven broadly waved away his concerns. “We’re trained very well. We have yearly discussions about that,” Reven said, as if to put the issue to bed. The official X account of the House Committee posted the exchange to X alongside a caption that read, “Nathan Fielder’s question has been asked and answered!”
Nathan Fielder’s question has been asked and answered! pic.twitter.com/DX6PWCWeNv
— Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (@TransportDems) June 4, 2025
Fielder, it appears, remains unmoved. The comedian took to X to reply to the clip, writing that he was once again going to call it “dumb,” but that his Rehearsal season-two co-star and former National Transportation Safety Board member, John Goglia, texted him a more nuanced reply:
I was going to call this dumb, but former NTSB board member John Goglia just texted me and told me to reply with this instead:
— nathan fielder (@nathanfielder) June 4, 2025
The issue raised in The Rehearsal is whether the authority gradient affects copilots' willingness to assert themselves at critical junctures and… https://t.co/mPpZWhQguW
Evidently struck by the thoughtfulness of this reply, the House Committee immediately backtracked on their initial dismissal of the comedian and licensed pilot’s claims. “You raise some good points, and your focus on aviation safety hasn’t gone unnoticed,” they replied on X. “We’d love to talk more about it on an episode of Take 5 with T&I!”
Fielder has yet to accept or decline this invitation publicly, but the tone of this reply once again demonstrates the House Committee’s flip attitude toward this important issue. This is no time to plug a podcast, folks. Real lives are at stake!
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