As the world reels from the latest in a string of terrifying plane crashes, former United States secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg is giving America’s chief decision-makers a free lesson in leadership.
A Delta plane made a fiery crash landing in Toronto, a city in Ontario, Canada, on Feb. 17, adding yet another wreck to a growing list of 2025 aviation disasters. All of the plane’s 80 inhabitants, both passenger and crew, blessedly survived, but the crash is none-the-less sparking broad concern.
Largely because it follows several other plane crashes, all of which occurred between Jan. 1 and Feb. 17 of 2025. That’s less than two full months. Between the Black Hawk crash, the Philly crash, the Alaskan crash, the Scottsdale collision, and now the Toronto crash, anxiety over flying is at an all-time high, and that’s not even considering the dozens of lower-profile collisions that have occurred so far this year.
Point being — plane crashes are in the news a lot, these days. And the response from the top has been disjointed, at best. While President Donald Trump is busy pointing fingers and Marjorie Taylor Greene is trying to figure out whether its Democrats, lasers, or lizard people crashing the planes, a man who left politics weeks ago is busy reminding the world what real leadership looks like.
Buttigieg swept past the typical blame-slinging that followed the Toronto crash to instead highlight one of the only positives in the situation: The incredible response by the flight crew. In a message to his followers on Bluesky, Buttigieg wrote of the “importance & amazing professionalism of flight attendants who safely evacuated the plane in a matter of seconds.”
Buttigieg’s apt acknowledgment of the heroic crew that successfully kept injuries to a minimum sparked a prompt examination of the many positives in this situation. Only 18 people were injured out of eight dozen — that’s impressive. Not to mention the speed with which flight attendants got passengers disembarked, even though they were upside down when the plane settled.
As commenters were quick to point out, the Canadian first responders also deserve high praise. They were quick to the scene and incredibly efficient, putting out the fire and once again contributing to the absence of serious injury.
The message prompted a wave of flight attendant appreciation from commenters, who heaped praise on not just the Delta flight attendants, but all the hard working attendants who care for passengers on a daily basis. As one person noted, “The thing most passengers never realize is the people serving them as flight attendants are a highly trained rescue squad poised to spring into action when disaster strikes.”
The conversation eventually gave way to general praise for Buttigieg, whose poise over the last few weeks has been a lifeline to many an American. His consistent class is by no means lost on the nation’s citizens, particularly when its compared to that of the current president, and his continued leadership is a shining light for no small number of Bluesky users. There’s even rampant support for another presidential push across commenters, so you never know. Maybe leadership of this sort can become a new American norm, rather than the exception.
