Senators Generally Supportive Of His Nomination To Be FAA Administrator

In his initial hearing before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on his nomination to be the next FAA Administrator, former Delta Air Lines executive Stephen Dickson faced questions about his position on the agency's process for aircraft certification.

Dickson (pictured) was nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the agency, and if confirmed, one of his first challenges would be the process used to certify the Boeing 737 MAX airplane that has been involved in two fatal accidents in recent months and is currently grounded worldwide. A total of 346 people were fatally injured in those accidents.

"I would never certify an airplane I wouldn’t put my family on," Dickson told the committee.

Roll Call reports that while there were tough questions about the certification issues, Dickson was generally well received by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. The committee's ranking Democrat, Maria Cantwell (D-WA) said she was "pleased to have such a qualified nominee before us."

Dickson is an Air Force Academy graduate, who has flown Boeing 727, 737 and 767 airplanes, as well as serving as captain in Airbus A320s. He recently retired as vice president for flight operations at Delta.

Cantwell asked how Dickson would handle what she called pilot's over-reliance on automation when flying commercial aircraft. He said he would work to ensure that innovation continues, but that pilots continue to maintain their manual flying skills needed when technology fails. “As automation continues to advance, it provides many benefits. However it can create risks that we need to mitigate,” he said.

Daniel Elwell has served as acting Administrator of the FAA since Michael Huerta stepped down at the end of his five-year term in January 2018.

(Image from hearing video posted by the Senate Commerce Committee)

FMI: Source report