Mr. Brian V. Throop is the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Acting Vice President for Air Traffic Services within the Air Traffic Organization (ATO).

He provides leadership and direction to more than 18,000 employees who collectively provide safe and efficient air navigation services to 45,000 flights and 2.9 million airline passengers every day across more than 29 million square miles of the National Airspace System (NAS).

Mr. Throop joined the FAA in 1984 as an air traffic controller. He served in a number of staff and supervisory positions in the southwest U.S. before moving to FAA headquarters in 1997 as a program specialist in the Oceanic and International Branch.

Between 1998 and 2002, he served as the air traffic representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Latin America Region, representing U.S. interests and providing subject matter expertise on a wide range of operational and procedural issues.

In 2002, Mr. Throop was selected as the FAA representative to the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD) Western Air Defense Sector where he helped shape the FAA's partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

In 2004, He joined the newly formed System Operations Security directorate, the organization within FAA charged with ensuring the operational security of the National Airspace System while maximizing access for all legitimate users. 

Mr. Throop has been awarded a number of Agency and Department level awards, including the Administrator’s Award for Excellence, the DOT National Security Medal and the DOT Outstanding Achievement Award for his work to combat human trafficking. In 2019, Mr. Throop was awarded DOT's highest honor, the Secretary's Gold Medal.

Mr. Throop is a member of FAA's Native American/Alaska Native Association. He is also active in the Airborne Law Enforcement Association, the Helicopter Safety Advisory Council and numerous national security forums.