The Future FAA Administrator

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

Captain John Dunkin, has flown for President Trump for 29 years. He has managed airline and corporate flight departments. Dunkin has certified airlines from start-up under FAA regulations. He also managed President Trump’s presidential air fleet, which over the period of 21 months, visited 203 cities in 43 states (Swan, 2018).

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

Daniel K. Elwell, presently the Acting Administrator, is one of the other candidates for FAA Administrator. Mr. Elwell, in the pass, has been the Deputy Administrator of the FAA, appointed by President Trump. He has also served at the FAA as the Assistant Administrator for Policy, Planning, and Environment from 2006-2008. Recently, he was Senior Advisor on Aviation to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao. Impressively, from 2013-2015, he was the Senior Vice President for Safety, Security, and Operations at Airlines for America (A4A), and was responsible for leading the advancement of commercial aviation safety and security excellence for major U.S. air carriers. To add to his career, Elwell was V.P. of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), where he represented civil aerospace manufacturers and led policy development for the civil aerospace manufacturing of more than 300 AIA member companies. Daniel Elwell was also a commercial pilot for 16 years with American Airlines and while staying proficient as a Captain, he served as Managing Director for International and Government Affairs at American Airlines. He also retired as Lieutenant Colonel Elwell as a Command Pilot with more than 6,000 hours of civilian and military flight time (FAA, 2018).

Representative Sam Graves is also on the short list for the position of FAA Administrator. Mr. Graves is a commercial airline pilot (Weber, 2018). Rep. Graves also sits on the aviation subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (Lanktree, 2018).

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

J. Lynn Helms, was a past FAA Administrator. He was an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and graduate of the Navy Test Pilot School (Thurber, 2011). Mr. Helms was also the former President of the Piper Aircraft Corporation.

Jane Garvey, was the FAA Administrator from 1997 to 2002. She was the Massachusetts Department of Public Works commissioner. Then became the director of Boston’s Logan International Airport, supervising the airport’s aviation operations and planning, coordinated policies to develop a second major regional airport, controlling noise. Staying in transportation, she became the U.S. Federal Highway Administration official. She was the first civilian appointed who was not a licensed pilot.

-       What is the job description of FAA Administrator?

The FAA Administrator, is responsible for the safety and efficiency of the largest aerospace system in the world and this system operates more than 50,000 flights per day. The Administrator also oversees a $16 billion-dollar budget, with more than 47,000 employees. The Administrator’s focus is to ensure that all the employees are prepared and trained to meet the demands and requirement of the industry. This position also oversees the FAA’s NextGen air traffic control modernization program costing billions of dollars (FAA, 2018).

-       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?

Absolutely! The FAA Administrator oversees all civil aviation in the United States. This person should have the capability, knowledge, and experience, of what these people in the aviation industry goes through and faces, each and every day. This candidate should be involved in the aviation industry in multiple ways. After doing my research for this blog, Daniel Elwell, so far, has the most experience in multiple divisions in the aviation industry. I think he has dedicated his life to familiarize himself in different positions to make him ready for this job as FAA Administrator. I would feel really confident to see him in this position for the next five years, when most of us will be entering into our careers in aviation.

Federal Aviation Administration. (2018, January 10). Key officials – Daniel K. Elwell acting administrator. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/about/key_officials/elwell/

Lanktree, G. (2018, February 26). Who is John Dunkin? Trump wants his personal pilot to head Americas aviation regulator. Retrieved March 06, 2018, from http://www.newsweek.com/who-john-dunkin-trump-wants-his-personal-pilot-head-faa-819300

Swan, J. (2018, February 25). Exclusive: Trump privately pushing personal pilot to run FAA. Retrieved March 06, 2018, from https://www.axios.com/exclusive-trump-privately-pushing-personal-pilot-to-run-faa-1519595187-5a735cc4-63e6-4348-b980-1aadf0b8e80d.html

Thurber, M. (2011, December 15). Former FAA Administrator J. Lynn Helms dies. Retrieved from https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2011-12-15/former-faa-administrator-j-lynn-helms-dies

Weber, P. (2018, February 26). Trump is reportedly pushing for his personal pilot to head the FAA. Retrieved March 06, 2018, from https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/politics/trump-is-reportedly-pushing-for-his-longtime-personal-pilot-to-head-the-faa/ar-BBJAQ8S