FAA Administrator Steve Dickson resigns midway into 5-yr time period

Posted On Feb 18, 2022 By admin With Comments Off

Steve Dickson, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, is stepping down, effective March 31.

The former Delta Air Lines pilot and ministerial had a tenure that was interspersed by variou crises. Dickson was sworn-in to the agency in August 2019, five months after the world set of the Boeing 737 MAX. He was the face of the agency’s effort to get the aircraft recertified, and literally was hands-on in the process — even flying the aircraft in a test flight.

Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free brand-new biweekly Aviation newsletter !

Dickson likewise guided the agency through the COVID-1 9 pandemic, which discovered brief closes of air traffic control facilities due to COVID events, along with other challenges. Additionally, he preceded the agency’s effort to crack down intrusive airline passengers, and had been a key player during the tumultuous rollout of 5G C-band wireless service in the U.S. last month. This week, the agency again took center stage, telling Boeing that it will inspect each new 787 give as quality publishes continue to pause deliveries of the popular widebody aircraft.

Dickson, 64, cited a desire to spend more time with his family. He had been commuting between Georgia and Washington, D.C.

” Over the past several years, my family has been a source of prodigious succour, concentration and help ,” Dickson wrote in a letter to FAA employees.” Nevertheless, after sometimes long and unavoidable periods of separation from my loved ones during the pandemic, it is time to devote my full meter and attention to them. As I wrote in my letter to President Biden, it is time to go home .”

Originally nominated by onetime President Donald Trump, Dickson’s period was to expire in August 2024. It is now time be up to Biden to nominate Dickson’s successor.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that Dickson will be missed. The FAA is by far the largest agency inside of the Department of Transportation.

” Steve has been the FAA’s continuous and skilled command, and his tenure has been labelled by steadfast commitment to the FAA’s safety mission and the 45,000 employees who work tirelessly every day to fulfill it ,” Buttigieg said in a statement.” We are grateful for his years of service to our country and his lifelong dedication to become sure our aviation organization is the best and safest in the world countries. While all of us at USDOT will miss Steve as a chairwoman and as a collaborator, we are very happy for him and his wife, Janice, as they embark upon this next chapter together .”

Featured photo by Al Drago/ Bloomberg.