FAA’s Dickson Takes Exit Ramp

Dogged by the debacles of the Boeing MAX and the airline v. telecom battle over 5G signals near airports, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson will leave his post at the end of March, midway through his five-year term.

In a message to FAA employees Wednesday (16 February 2022), Dickson said, “After sometimes long and unavoidable periods of separation from my loved ones during the pandemic, it is time to devote my full time and attention to them.”

Dickson was appointed by former President Trump in 2019 for a five-year term, confirmed with only Republican votes, when the agency was beset with accusations of delegating critical oversight duties to Boeing in the wake of two deadly 737 MAX crashes. Dickson’s challenge was to juggle the fallout of public and political confidence in aviation, forge a new relationship with the aircraft manufacturer, and rebuild the morale of FAA employees.

Then the pandemic.

The most recent kerfuffle was a very public standoff with telecom providers AT&T and Verizon over their rollout of 5G wireless networks (which are more powerful than similar networks in Europe with less buffer for frequencies used by commercial aircraft.

See Robert W. Moorman’s article in CAT,  "The Ongoing Saga of 5G and US Aviation”

The Administrator has also dealt with a crescendo of unruly passenger incidents on airplanes, largely triggered by frustration with mask mandates. The FAA has implemented zero-tolerance regulations and imposed hefty fines on the most out-of-control fliers. Airlines and cabin crew unions are lobbying for a national no-fly list to keep disruptors grounded.

Dickson wrote: “Although my heart is heavy, I am tremendously proud of everything we have accomplished together over the past several years. Together, we have done the hard work to reinvigorate our safety culture. We’ve built a stronger, more collaborative, inclusive and open culture within the agency. I believe we are stronger than ever.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg praised Dickson in a statement: “Steve has been the FAA’s steady and skilled captain, and his tenure has been marked by steadfast commitment to the FAA’s safety mission and the 45,000 employees who work tirelessly every day to fulfill it.”

Dickson, 64, is a former Delta Air Lines pilot and executive and a graduate of the Air Force Academy and Georgia State College of Law.

He reportedly made the decision to resign in late December and notified the US DoT last month.

Read more:

FAA-Boeing Launching MAX 2.0, by Robert W. Moorman
What’s Next for MAX Training? by Rick Adams, FRAeS