Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Mike Whitaker listens to a question during a news conference about the FAA's work to hold Boeing accountable for safety and production quality problems at Federal Aviation Administration headquarters on May 30, 2024 in Washington, D.C. .
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration, Mike Whitaker, said Thursday that he will resign on Jan. 20, the day President-elect Donald Trump takes office, leaving behind the main agency overseeing aviation. Boeing and the U.S. airline industry once again leaderless.
In October 2023, it was confirmed that Whitaker would serve a five-year term as FAA administrator. He set production limits and tightened the agency's oversight of Boeing after a near-catastrophic blow to the door plug of a Boeing 737 Max in January, when it had been forgotten for months. the job.
Mark House, the FAA's assistant administrator for finance and management, will become acting deputy administrator.
The agency has experienced several leadership changes in recent years. These have occurred during one of the US aviation industry's most tumultuous periods, including two crashes of Boeing's best-selling 737 Max aircraft and a subsequent grounding, the Covid-19 pandemic and a series of high-profile close calls and safety issues regarding US airlines and airports.
Trump's latest nominee to lead the FAA, ex-Delta Captain Steve Dickson resigned in 2022, halfway through his term.
“You have seen leadership come and go – and through each transition you have kept air traffic stable and safe. This transition will be no different,” Whitaker said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Trump's transition team did not immediately comment.
Trump has not yet nominated an FAA administrator for his second term. If his final nominee is confirmed, he will face a host of challenges, including continued oversight of Boeing and expanding and modernizing air traffic control. The shortage of air traffic controllers has irritated airline executives, who blame staff shortages for congestion at some of the country's busiest airports.
The FAA's oversight of the space industry has also been a source of controversy. Companies including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin have pushed for improvements in the FAA's speed and efficiency in regulating rocket launches and spacecraft returning from orbit.
Musk also said in September that his company would sue the FAA for “regulatory overreach” after the agency fined SpaceX for licensing violations and, according to the company, held up test flights of its Starship rocket.
