March 4th, 2018
By - Kalan Foster
FAA Administrator
Donald Trump has nominated his private pilot to be the next FAA administrator, and his credentials are based on an article published in news week: “He’s managed airline and corporate flight departments, certified airlines from start-up under FAA regulations,” they said, pointing out Dunkin “oversaw the Trump presidential campaign’s air fleet, which included managing all aviation transportation for travel to 203 cities in 43 states over the course of 21 months. (News Week)”. This article was released on multiple platforms, once he’s seriously considered I believe his credentials will be officially questioned. Based on the evidence provided online there's no evidence indicating that he isn't fit for the position, I don't believe fair to introduce a biased opinion this early.
Daniel K. Elwell is the Acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Mr. Elwell was the Deputy Administrator of the FAA prior to his temporary promotion. He was also the assistant administrator for policy, planning, and environment for two years. Most recently he was also the Senior Advisor on Aviation to the secretary of transportation (FAA).
The previous FAA Administrator was Michael Huerta. He was the Associate Deputy for the U.S. Transportation Secretary, he was the Chief of Staff for the U.S. Transportation Secretary, and he was also the deputy administrator of the FAA prior to being the FAA administrator.
Randy Babbit was the FAA administrator prior to Michael Huerta. He had flown with Eastern Airlines for 25 years, and he also was acting president of ALPA for 8 years.
The FAA Administrator is responsible for the safety and efficiency of the United States airspace system. He’s in charge of managing the budget which is $16.4 billion dollars, approximately 47,000 employees, and is responsible for ensuring that the airline industry is complying with all the federal laws.
NextGen is a very delicate project, I believe this next milestone within the Aviation industry should be led by someone who already has experience within the FAA or the NTSB. The FAA Deputy seems like the position that prepares candidates to accept this role, I believe they should hire someone within the industry to ensure these projects receive the much-needed attention they require.
Sources
Lanktree, G. (2018, February 26). Who is John Dunkin? Trump wants his personal pilot to head America's aviation regulator. Retrieved March 04, 2018, from http://www.newsweek.com/who-john-dunkin-trump-wants-his-personal-pilot-head-faa-819300
Daniel K. Elwell. (2018, January 10). Retrieved March 04, 2018, from https://www.faa.gov/about/key_officials/elwell/
I enjoyed reading what you found about this topic! It seems like President Trump wants anyone to fulfill that position that he’s established a relationship with so he can keep them in their back pocket, so to speak, regardless of what their qualifications (or lack thereof) are. Do you think Dunkin’s position as the FAA Administrator will impact your own personal aspirations within the field of aviation? I personally don't think it will do much, provided he maintains the same level of integrity the previous FAA Administrators have exhibited.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of information here I didn't know from my research, so good job on that. I see you said that you think if he is legitimately considered for the position, that his credentials would be questioned. I don't think they will. Reason being, he can't physically fly a 757 type aircraft without a type rating, which obviously requires everything up to an ATP in some cases.
ReplyDelete