President Donald Trump will nominate former Delta Air Lines executive Stephen Dickson for the role of FAA administrator, the White House announced Tuesday.
Dickson recently retired as Delta's Senior Vice President-Flight Operations.
"In this role, Steve was responsible for the safety and operational performance of Delta's global flight operations, as well as pilot training, crew resources, crew scheduling and regulatory compliance," the White House said in a statement. "He also flew in line operations as an A320 captain and previously flew the B727, B737, B757, and B767 during his career."
The Trump administration described Dickson as "a strong advocate for commercial aviation safety and improvements to our National Airspace System, having served as chairman of several industry stakeholder groups and Federal advisory committees."
Dickson is also a former United States Air Force Officer and F-15 fighter pilot who graduated from the academy in 1979.
National Air Traffic Controllers Association president Paul Rinaldi called the nomination a "well-deserved appointment."
If confirmed by the Senate, Dickson would replace acting administrator Daniel Elwell, who replaced the last permanent FAA administrator, Michael Huerta, when he resigned early last year. Dickson would also serve as the Chairman of the Air Traffic Services Committee, Department of Transportation.
Dickson's nomination to a five-year term comes at a tumultuous time for the FAA amid criticism for delays in grounding the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft involved in this month's Ethiopian Airlines crash. The accident was the second fatal crash involving the Boeing jet in a six-month span.
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