President Donald Trump plans to nominate former Delta
executive Stephen Dickson to head the FAA.
The move, made by Trump as the FAA faces criticism for
lagging behind most of the world in grounding 737 Max aircraft last week, comes
more than 14 months after the five-year term of the most recent FAA
administrator, Michael Huerta, ended in January 2018. The agency has been headed
by acting administrator Dan Elwell since that time.
Dickson retired as head of flight operations from Delta in
October after 27 years at the carrier. His responsibilities included the safety
and operational performance of Delta's global flight operations, pilot
training, crew resources, crew scheduling and regulatory reform, the White
House said. Earlier in his career, Dickson was a pilot
for Delta, flying Boeing 737s.
On Tuesday, the DOT confirmed that secretary Elaine Chao has ordered that the
Office of the Inspector General conduct an audit of the certification process
for the Boeing 737 Max.
Two 737 Max 8s have crashed since October due to what
investigators believe was erroneous information being transmitted from an
aircraft senor to the plane's automated flight control system. The March 10
crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8, which killed 157 people, led to the Max 8
fleet being grounded around the world.
House transportation committee chairman Peter DeFazio
(D-Ore.) has said he will conduct hearings to examine the relationship between
Boeing and the FAA as well the FAA's process for approving new aircraft types.