FAA Administrator

-What are the qualifications of John Dunkin (President Trump's pilot)?

Since 1989, John Dunkin’s work experience, according to a Smithsonian documentary, has been working as Trump’s personal pilot. Dunkin is the Trump Organization’s director of aviation operations for a fleet that includes a Boeing 757, a Cessna Citation X business jet and three Sikorsky helicopters. An administration official went on record to say of Dunkin, “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, which included managing all aviation transport for travel to 203 cities in 43 states over the course of 21 months.” (Swan, 2018).

-Who are the other candidates for FAA Administrator and what are their qualifications?

Republican congressman from Missouri, Sam Graves is a pilot and long-time supporter of the general aviation industry. A spokeswoman from his office said that his office is not aware that he is being considered for the position. He has made it clear that he is seeking the House Transportation Committee chairmanship, whose current holder is retiring from Congress (Swan, 2018).

Acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell is another candidate for the FAA Administrator position. The acting FAA Administrator was in the Air Force. He flew over 6,000 hours, including combat service in Operation Desert Storm, and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and Command Pilot. After the Air Force, he was a pilot at American Airlines for 16 years. He served as Vice President of the Aerospace Industries Association and the Senior Vice President for Safety, Security, and Operations at Airlines 4 America (Federal Aviation Administration, 2018).

-Pick two past FAA Administrators. What was their qualifications?

Trump has expressed sentiment that the FAA Administrator position should be held by a pilot. The Obama-era Administrator Michael Huerta was not a pilot. “Huerta has previously been the FAA’s deputy administrator, and before that held posts elsewhere in DOT, worked at port organizations for New York City and San Francisco, and been managing director of Salt Lake City’s organizing committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics” (Politico, 2018). Typically, FAA administrators have been aviation industry or federal government professionals, with patronage appointments few and far between in recent years. Huerta’s immediate predecessor, Obama appointee Randy Babbitt, was a former airline pilot an executive for ALPA. Babbitt resigned from the FAA after being charged with drunken driving (Politico, 2018).

-What is the job description of FAA Administrator?

The FAA Administrator is responsible for managing all of the FAAs employees and setting directives and deliverables for the entire organization. The Administrator is the highest position in the FAA.

-In terms of your career and based upon the job description above, do you feel that it matters who the FAA Administrator is? Why or why not?

Who gets appointed to the FAA Administrator position is very important. The FAA administrator is the highest position and provides upper level leadership. Without strong leadership at the top, the FAA will inevitably end up with problems. The FAA needs a leader that understands aviation and can act in the best interest of all. The FAA creates and enforces the regulations which govern all aviation, so the Administrator must have the well-being of aviation as his or her highest priority.

Federal Aviation Administration. (January 2018). Daniel K. Elwell Acting Administrator.

Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/about/key_officials/elwell/

Gurciullo, B. & Snyder, T. (February 2018). Skepticism reigns about putting Trump’s pilot in

charge of FAA. Politico. Retrieved from https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/26/tru mppilot-faa-post-skepticism-366199

Swan, J. (February 2018). Trump privately pushing personal pilot to run FAA. Axios. Retrieved

from https://www.axios.com/exclusive-trump-privately-pushing-personal-pilot-to-run-faa-1519595187-5a735cc4-63e6-4348-b980-1aadf0b8e80d.html