Moderators: jsumali2, richierich, ua900, PanAm_DC10, hOMSaR
ual763 wrote:Anyone can be better than Huerta. Glad those days are behind us.
Roots1 wrote:ual763 wrote:Anyone can be better than Huerta. Glad those days are behind us.
Why was Michael Huerta so bad?
mxaxai wrote:Does he have any personal affiliation with Trump or is this Trump's first independent nominee for a public office? If it's the latter that speaks for Mr. Dickson.
Why was the job vacant for so long anyway? Trump will try to market this, and the order to ground the MAX, as his win but he's been in office long enough to find someone much earlier.
PacificWest wrote:mxaxai wrote:Does he have any personal affiliation with Trump or is this Trump's first independent nominee for a public office? If it's the latter that speaks for Mr. Dickson.
Why was the job vacant for so long anyway? Trump will try to market this, and the order to ground the MAX, as his win but he's been in office long enough to find someone much earlier.
It hasn't been empty -- there's been an acting/interim FAA head since the last person resigned about a year ago. Apparently it's not uncommon for these types of appointed positions to be filled by a top-level leader in the organization for an extended period of time.
Either way, I think this Delta guy sounds like a pretty good choice.
enilria wrote:PacificWest wrote:mxaxai wrote:Does he have any personal affiliation with Trump or is this Trump's first independent nominee for a public office? If it's the latter that speaks for Mr. Dickson.
Why was the job vacant for so long anyway? Trump will try to market this, and the order to ground the MAX, as his win but he's been in office long enough to find someone much earlier.
It hasn't been empty -- there's been an acting/interim FAA head since the last person resigned about a year ago. Apparently it's not uncommon for these types of appointed positions to be filled by a top-level leader in the organization for an extended period of time.
Either way, I think this Delta guy sounds like a pretty good choice.
Since you made this a bit political, overriding the FAA and grounding the 737 was a “win”. It was the right thing to do.
winginit wrote:Elaine Chao was formerly on the NW board wasn't she? Interesting that it's those formerly involved with DL/NW who have found their way to DOT/FAA government spots. It's a pretty poorly kept secret as well that Anderson would have been tapped for DOT Secretary had the election gone for Hillary.
Yossarian22 wrote:It is problematic that people from inside the industry are tasked with regulating the industry. I’m curiuos what position awaits Dickson after he finishes “slumming it” in the public sector for a few years. Can you really trust an industry insider to properly and safely regulated the industry? The 737-Max says no.
LAXintl wrote:Politics is always a factor for department and agency heads. So yes, I would expect Mr. Dickson to be friends with someone in the administration and likely Republican. If you read the WSJ story, it states:
After a 27-year career with Delta, Mr. Dickson’s bid to become the top U.S. aviation regulator has garnered White House support, and generally positive response among Senate Republicans, according to people familiar with the matter.
If confirmed by the Senate to a five-year term, Mr. Dickson would be the first head of the roughly 45,000-employee agency in three decades to come directly from a senior executive post at an airline.
In general, Presidents don't appoint people to lead agencies if their views are too different, or are mavericks on their own.
mxaxai wrote:Why was the job vacant for so long anyway?
Yossarian22 wrote:It is problematic that people from inside the industry are tasked with regulating the industry. I’m curiuos what position awaits Dickson after he finishes “slumming it” in the public sector for a few years. Can you really trust an industry insider to properly and safely regulated the industry? The 737-Max says no.
LAXintl wrote:President Donald Trump will nominate former Delta Air Lines executive Steve Dickson to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the White House said on Tuesday.
At Delta, Dickson oversaw more than 13,000 pilots and an internal support team of 400 employees. He flew the A320, B727, B737, B757 and B767 during his career at Delta and is a former U.S. Air Force officer and F-15 fighter pilot.
Trump taps former Delta executive to head aviation regulator
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKCN1R02JC
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FAA Administrator post has been vacant for 14-months with a permanent nominee.
B737900ER wrote:People are funny. As if an agency head has anything to do with regulatory oversight. He’s not going to oversee certification. He’s not going to be a safety inspector. The whole Boeing in bed with the FAA is ridiculous. Name one aircraft program that didn’t have issues. Name an aircraft program that hasn’t has a crash. Name an aircraft program that hasn’t had design changes after certification. The USA has one of the safest aviation cultures in the world and the FAA is part of that. This outrage of the month stuff needs to stop.
But hey, the guy flew a 737. What more do you need. He’s super qualified to oversee certification
26point2 wrote:Not long ago Trump said he was nominating his own personal pilot to head the FAA. What ever happened to that plan?
26point2 wrote:Not long ago Trump said he was nominating his own personal pilot to head the FAA. What ever happened to that plan?
astuteman wrote:In fact, to the best of my memory, every major development programme launched by either of the big 2 this century has a crash record which demonstrates the expectations of modern safety management - i.e. none.
I will gladly stand corrected, but that is the context that the MAX crashes exist in, in the 21st century.
Rgds
gatibosgru wrote:26point2 wrote:Not long ago Trump said he was nominating his own personal pilot to head the FAA. What ever happened to that plan?
Let's just be happy that miraculously didn't happen.
DENTK wrote:Dickson is a solid choice, a good man, and my former boss.
ual763 wrote:Never would have guessed you were a Delta guy with that username
S0Y wrote:Yossarian22 wrote:It is problematic that people from inside the industry are tasked with regulating the industry. I’m curiuos what position awaits Dickson after he finishes “slumming it” in the public sector for a few years. Can you really trust an industry insider to properly and safely regulated the industry? The 737-Max says no.
If it was someone from Boeing, then you may have a point, but not sure what bias an ex-DL exec would bring to the FAA's role. If anything I think its good that a ex-pilot is being selected and I would hope(expect) that he will put public safety above any personal/political gain
Jouhou wrote:S0Y wrote:Yossarian22 wrote:It is problematic that people from inside the industry are tasked with regulating the industry. I’m curiuos what position awaits Dickson after he finishes “slumming it” in the public sector for a few years. Can you really trust an industry insider to properly and safely regulated the industry? The 737-Max says no.
If it was someone from Boeing, then you may have a point, but not sure what bias an ex-DL exec would bring to the FAA's role. If anything I think its good that a ex-pilot is being selected and I would hope(expect) that he will put public safety above any personal/political gain
Of the largest U.S. airlines, Delta is the only one that doesn't have the max on order. The next largest U.S. airline that doesn't have them ordered is JetBlue. The sudden need to appoint someone to this position was likely precipitated by the max crisis. It's actually a pleasantly surprising avoidance of a conflict of interest.
Yossarian22 wrote:Jouhou wrote:S0Y wrote:
If it was someone from Boeing, then you may have a point, but not sure what bias an ex-DL exec would bring to the FAA's role. If anything I think its good that a ex-pilot is being selected and I would hope(expect) that he will put public safety above any personal/political gain
Of the largest U.S. airlines, Delta is the only one that doesn't have the max on order. The next largest U.S. airline that doesn't have them ordered is JetBlue. The sudden need to appoint someone to this position was likely precipitated by the max crisis. It's actually a pleasantly surprising avoidance of a conflict of interest.
The FAA does more than regulate the 737-Max, it regulates airlines as well. That is a conflict of interest, it is problematic that in nearly every regulatory position is a guy who once was a high level executive in the industry he is now regulating.
Yossarian22 wrote:Jouhou wrote:S0Y wrote:
If it was someone from Boeing, then you may have a point, but not sure what bias an ex-DL exec would bring to the FAA's role. If anything I think its good that a ex-pilot is being selected and I would hope(expect) that he will put public safety above any personal/political gain
Of the largest U.S. airlines, Delta is the only one that doesn't have the max on order. The next largest U.S. airline that doesn't have them ordered is JetBlue. The sudden need to appoint someone to this position was likely precipitated by the max crisis. It's actually a pleasantly surprising avoidance of a conflict of interest.
The FAA does more than regulate the 737-Max, it regulates airlines as well. That is a conflict of interest, it is problematic that in nearly every regulatory position is a guy who once was a high level executive in the industry he is now regulating.
B737900ER wrote:astuteman wrote:In fact, to the best of my memory, every major development programme launched by either of the big 2 this century has a crash record which demonstrates the expectations of modern safety management - i.e. none.
I will gladly stand corrected, but that is the context that the MAX crashes exist in, in the 21st century.
Rgds
Give it time.
Avation has become so safe that we don’t expect accidents or incidents. But the fact of the matter is that flying is inherently dangerous. The 787 came close. The A380 came real close. The rest of your list will experience a crash or will come really close to crashing at some point. How many A320 crashed due to poor designs? Not bashing any model in particular, but you can’t predict every situation and every flight crew decision during testing. The head of the FAA isn’t going to change that.
astuteman wrote:But the MAX - the latest programme of them all - has a one in 100 000 statistical probability of crashing.
B737900ER wrote:Name an aircraft program that hasn’t has a crash.
B737900ER wrote:People are funny. As if an agency head has anything to do with regulatory oversight. He’s not going to oversee certification. He’s not going to be a safety inspector. The whole Boeing in bed with the FAA is ridiculous. Name one aircraft program that didn’t have issues. Name an aircraft program that hasn’t has a crash. Name an aircraft program that hasn’t had design changes after certification. The USA has one of the safest aviation cultures in the world and the FAA is part of that. This outrage of the month stuff needs to stop.
But hey, the guy flew a 737. What more do you need. He’s super qualified to oversee certification
LAX772LR wrote:Dunno why, but I was terrified before opening this that it would say "Vicki Escarra"
winginit wrote:Elaine Chao was formerly on the NW board wasn't she? Interesting that it's those formerly involved with DL/NW who have found their way to DOT/FAA government spots. It's a pretty poorly kept secret as well that Anderson would have been tapped for DOT Secretary had the election gone for Hillary.
ual763 wrote:For those of you unaware, he was the Director of Flight Ops at Delta. Pretty good pick, imo. Glad to see someone nominated who has experience flying a real plane (The 727)! Anyone can be better than Huerta. Glad those days are behind us.
catiii wrote:ual763 wrote:For those of you unaware, he was the Director of Flight Ops at Delta. Pretty good pick, imo. Glad to see someone nominated who has experience flying a real plane (The 727)! Anyone can be better than Huerta. Glad those days are behind us.
More like he was the SVP of Flight Ops at Delta....
Aesma wrote:B737900ER wrote:People are funny. As if an agency head has anything to do with regulatory oversight. He’s not going to oversee certification. He’s not going to be a safety inspector. The whole Boeing in bed with the FAA is ridiculous. Name one aircraft program that didn’t have issues. Name an aircraft program that hasn’t has a crash. Name an aircraft program that hasn’t had design changes after certification. The USA has one of the safest aviation cultures in the world and the FAA is part of that. This outrage of the month stuff needs to stop.
But hey, the guy flew a 737. What more do you need. He’s super qualified to oversee certification
Well as FAA head he can advocate for more funding so that his agency can actually do its job instead of delegating it to Boeing.
Of he can be a political hack and say his agency should be gutted because "less government is better" or such nonsense.
So that makes quite a difference, in the end.
Maddawg88 wrote:While he seems like a good choice, whether he is a pilot or not really has nothing to do with being able to run a large agency like the FAA.Steve was the former SVP of Flight Operations at Delta for years. He’s an extremely intelligent, competent pilot. As I recall he was number 1 in his class at the Air Force Academy prior to flying the F15. He was on numerous FAA and industry steering committees and very involved with NextGen as well as other roles. I think he is an excellent choice to lead the FAA. His biggest issue will be driving a large federal bureaucracy as opposed to a division of a public company. Either way he’s way more impressive than Trump’s personal pilot.