The next FAA Administrator

Most of aviation is a very close niche and a very small world. This world, however, has been thrown into the spotlight a few times throughout its rather short history. One of the most recent example of this is the rumored name tossed into the list of next possible FAA administrators. That name is John Dunkin, President Donald Trumps personal pilot. While there has been quite a lot of skepticism, there are also supporters for this Dunkin. According to Brianna Gurciullo and Tanya Snyder, both of which report on transportation issues for Politico, relayed a quote from Axios, one of the first to affirm that Dunkin was on the list of possible FAA administrators, stated that “he's "managed airline and corporate flight departments, certified airlines from start-up under FAA regulations, and oversaw the Trump presidential campaign’s air fleet.”” (Gurciullo & Snyder, 2018). In a quote made by Dunkin, he stated the enormous amount of traveling the president conducted along his campaign to presidency. This included “had visited 45 states, flown 370,725 miles, landed in 203 cities, operated 722 legs, burned over a million gallons of fuel” (Gurciullo & Snyder, 2018). He has also been reported to handle parts transportation and operation oversight for the Trump fleet. This is impressive but not enough to guarantee the position of FAA administrator. 

There are a couple other candidates for the FAA administrator besides John Dunkin. The other candidates are Daniel Elwell and Samuel Graves. The latter, Sam Graves, is a house representative from Missouri that had been a supporter of general aviation and is also a pilot. Mr. Graves, however, has made his intentions clear that he is seeking the House Transportation Committee Chairmanship that will be vacated after the retirement of representative Bill Shuster (Gurciullo & Snyder, 2018). Daniel Elwell, however, is the currently acting FAA administrator. Elwell, according to the FAA, has quite the long list of career accomplishments which include a military background in the Airforce, A PILOT AND MANAGER AT American Airlines, was the vice president of the Aerospace Industry Association, senior vice president at Airlines 4 America dealing with safety security and operations, and held various positions in the FAA such as deputy administrator and an adviser to the Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao (FAA, N.d.) 

There have been a 17 FAA administrator over the years. To of the past administrators, two of them have stood out to me and those are Jane F. Garvey and the most recent administrator Michael P. Huerta. Jane Garvey was the first woman FAA administrator and the first to serve a full five-year term as the administrator (FAA, n.d.). Both of these things are amazing accomplishments. She

“earned her B.A. from Mount Saint Mary's College and her M.A. from Mount Holyoke College. From 1988 to 1991, she was commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, and later served as director of Boston’s Logan International Airport. In 1993 she joined the Federal Highway Administration, serving as deputy administrator and then acting administrator” (FAA, n.d.).

As an administrator and as an aviation professional, Jane Garvey had many accomplishments. She also was very qualified to take on the role as administrator as her work history in the federal government clearly represented. Michael Huerta was the most recent FAA administrator. His qualifications include

“On June 23, 2010, the U.S. Senate confirmed him as FAA deputy administrator. Prior to his appointment he ran his own consulting firm, advising clients on transportation policy, technology, and financing. He also served as a member of President Obama's transition team for the Department of Transportation. He had been president of the Transportation Solutions Group of Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., a technology services provider supporting transportation agencies worldwide. Huerta served in two senior positions at the Department of Transportation under President Clinton from 1993 to 1998” (FAA, n.d.).

This is another example of an administrator that has come from the ranks of the federal government. This seems to be a similarity between Garvey and Huerta and has lead to the continued success and improvement of the FAA and civil aviation as a whole. 

For someone who holds a vast amount of the regulatory power over the aviation industry, you would think that the list of requirements would be vast and the candidates themselves would be only the best of the best of the best. The reality is much more mundane in my opinion. According to the CFRs, “The Federal Aviation Administration is an administration in the Department of Transportation” (49 U.S. Code § 106, n.d.). This administrator is chosen by the president as most federal offices are and validated through congress and normally answerable to the Secretary of Transportation (49 U.S. Code § 106, n.d.). Also, according to the CFR, “The term of office for any individual appointed as Administrator after August 23, 1994, shall be 5 years” and the qualifications for the administrator position state that “The Administrator must be a citizen of the United States; be a civilian; and have experience in a field directly related to aviation” (49 U.S. Code § 106, n.d.). For such an important decision one may speculate that such minor restrictions might lead to wide variety of candidates but the opposite is actually the case.

I feel that it does matter who the FAA administrator is. Being the head of the FAA, it is a driving arm and a place that can put pressure on the industry as a whole by choosing where the most devotion goes. This makes the head of the FAA just as important to everyone who runs underneath them. Based on the international pilot that I would like to become, the implementation of NexGen is a huge change that will be directly affecting me once I become such. To see where the FAA decides to place its time and funding into will be a very big concern of mine as I get more invested into the industry as a whole. I do believe in our democracy to choose the most qualified and productive person to lead our industry to be the greatest we can be.

References

49 U.S. Code § 106 - Federal Aviation Administration. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/106

FAA. (n.d.) FAA Administrator Biographies. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/about/history/media/AOA_bios.pdf. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/about/history/

FAA. (n.d.) Daniel K. Elwell Acting Administrator. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/about/key_officials/elwell/

Gurciullo, B., & Snyder, T. (2018, February 26). Skepticism reigns about putting Trump's pilot in charge of FAA. Retrieved from https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/26/trump-pilot-faa-post-skepticism-366199