Nathan Fielder calls FAA 'dumb' for rejecting 'The Rehearsal' findings

Comedian and pilot Nathan Fielder appeared on CNN, where he discussed his experience flying a Boeing 737 during the season 2 finale of HBO's "The Rehearsal."

Comedian/pilot Nathan Fielder criticized the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday, calling the agency "dumb" for its response to his show "The Rehearsal."

Wearing a hat that read "737" (yes, like the plane) and a suit, Fielder and aviation safety expert John Goglia joined CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown to discuss the reaction to his HBO show. (CNN and HBO are both owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.)

In the second season of the docu-comedy, which aired its finale on Sunday, Fielder investigates a theory that suggests many plane crashes are caused by pilots and co-pilots miscommunicating with each other. Viewers learn that Fielder had spent two years obtaining his commercial pilot license, so that he could fly a full plane of passengers (all actors) on a Boeing 737. While Fielder is known on the show to make fake scenarios look realistic, viewers were shocked to realize he was, in fact, flying the plane. Some fans on Reddit also said they found Fielder in the FAA database and looked up his flight.

Goglia, a former National Transportation Safety Board member, also appears on “The Rehearsal" and provided Fielder with expertise on flying. Together, they advocated for including role playing in pilot training.

During the CNN segment, Brown read a statement from the FAA, in which a spokesperson said the agency “requires all airline crewmembers (pilots and flight attendants) and dispatchers to complete Crew Resource Management training. They must complete this training before they begin working in their official positions and complete it on a recurring basis afterward.”