Chief Judge Woody Ascends the Bench

On 02 March 2023, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced Judge Stephen Woody had been appointed the agency’s chief administrative law judge. Judge Woody, who’s been in the NTSB’s retinue for over a decade, has served in an acting capacity since Alfonso Montaño retired from the office of Chief Judge in December 2022.

Chief Judge Woody—whose colloquial appellation belies the gravity of his station—joined the NTSB in August 2012 as an administrative law judge, a capacity in which he decided cases in the Office of Administrative Law Judges Circuit I, which includes the northeastern United States and portions of the Midwest.

To the subject of Chief Judge Woody’s appointment, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy stated: “In addition to holding airmen, mechanics, and mariners to the highest possible standards, our administrative law judges ensure those standards are fairly and justly applied; both of which contribute to transportation safety. I’m so pleased that Chief Judge Woody will continue his tenure at the NTSB Office of Administrative Law Judges, where he and his colleagues will continue to protect safety in our skies and on our seas.”

A retired United States Air Force Colonel whose service comprised more than 22-years as a judge advocate in a variety of positions including military adjudicator, Chief Judge Woody, before joining the NTSB, served as an administrative law judge with the Social Security Administration. He is a graduate of Virginia University and the West Virginia University College of Law.

The NTSB serves as the court of appeals for airman, mechanics, and mariners against whom certificate action has been taken by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the U.S. Coast Guard Commandant—or against whom civil penalties have been assessed by the FAA.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov