Obama Set to Nominate Babbitt as FAA Administrator
March 30 – The White House announced its intention to nominate veteran aviation professional J. Randolph “Randy” Babbitt as the next administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminstration (FAA).
He is widely recognized as an aviation expert. Currently, Babbitt is a partner at Oliver Wyman, an international aviation consulting firm. A former airline pilot, Babbitt was president and CEO of the Airline Pilots Association.
Babbitt is well familiar with the inner workings at the FAA. President Clinton appointed Babbitt to FAA's Management Advisory Council in 2000. Just last year, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters appointed him to the independent review team of aviation and safety experts that examined the FAA's approach to safety. That team offered recommendations to improve the agency's safety culture and the implementation of an aviation safety system.
The announcement was well received within the agency. In a broadcast message to all employees, acting Administrator Lynne Osmus said, “Randy is no stranger to the FAA, and many of us have had the pleasure of working with him over the last several years.”
Read the White House announcement.