Flight Safety Information - February 17, 2022 No. 034 - SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE FAA head resigns after effort to rebuild agency's reputation FAA Administrator Steve Dickson resigns, will leave at the end of March FAA’s Greatest Career Employee Has Passed FAA head resigns after effort to rebuild agency's reputation The leader of the Federal Aviation Administration, whose agency has been criticized for its oversight of Boeing and handling of questions surrounding 5G interference with aircraft, said Wednesday he will step down March 31. Stephen Dickson, a former pilot and executive with Delta Air Lines in Atlanta, had led the FAA since August 2019. He citied separation from his family during the pandemic, saying he told President Joe Biden, “It is time to go home.” In a letter to FAA staff, Dickson said he was proud of his tenure. “The agency is in a better place than it was two years ago, and we are positioned for great success,” he said. FEB. 16, 202201:36 Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose department includes the FAA, said Dickson "has been the FAA’s steady and skilled captain.” In a statement, Buttigieg said Dickson's tenure “has been marked by steadfast commitment to the FAA’s safety mission ... and his lifelong dedication to making sure our aviation system is the best and safest in the world.” The agency's reputation was battered before Dickson became administrator for approving the Boeing 737 Max and then not grounding it after the first of two deadly accidents in 2018 and 2019. When the CEO of Boeing seemed to pressure the FAA by saying several times that the FAA would soon clear the plane to fly again, Dickson pushed back. Dickson released a video in which he told FAA technical experts: "I want you to take the time you need and focus solely on safety. I’ve got your back.” The FAA finally cleared the plane in late 2020 after grounding it for nearly two years while Boeing overhauled an automated flight-control system that played a role in the crashes. However, that did not end criticism over the FAA's oversight of Boeing. Last week, Democrats who lead the House Transportation Committee and its aviation subcommittee asked for an inspector general's report into why the FAA didn't take more enforcement action against Boeing for problems with the Max. Also in recent weeks, the FAA has been swept up in controversy over whether new high-speed wireless service from AT&T and Verizon can interfere with instruments on planes. Under pressure from the FAA, the Transportation Department and the White House, the telecommunications companies agreed to delay their rollout of the service near busy airports. Critics, however, said the FAA was slow to take up the issue. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/faa-head-resigns-after-effort-rebuild-agency-s-reputation-n1289245 FAA Administrator Steve Dickson resigns, will leave at the end of March Steve Dickson, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, has resigned, CBS News confirms. He will leave the administration at the end of March. In an email to his employees obtained by CBS News, Dickson wrote that he wants to "devote my full time and attention" to his family. "As I wrote in my letter to President Biden, it is time to go home. Although my heart is heavy, I am tremendously proud of everything we have accomplished together over the past several years," he said. "The agency is in a better place than it was two years ago, and we are positioned for great success. It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve alongside you." In his announcement, Dickson said he had been in the aviation industry for 43 years. He was nominated to lead the FAA by then-President Donald Trump in 2019. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called Dickson "the FAA's steady and skilled captain." "We are grateful for his years of service to our country and his lifelong dedication to making sure our aviation system is the best and safest in the world," he wrote in a statement to CBS News. The FAA said it will work with the White House to find Dickson's replacement. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the FAA has faced many obstacles. In 2020, it had to navigate a sharp plunge in air travel as much of the county and the world went into lockdown. Since then, it has dealt with thousands of unruly passengers, many of whom do not want to comply with federal law that requires all passengers wear a mask while onboard a plane. The record number of onboard incidents, as well as waves of COVID-19 infections, has resulted in staff shortages for flight crews. Most recently, the FAA has been navigating the launch of 5G networks and how they would affect air travel. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/steve-dickson-resign-federal-aviation-administration/ FAA’s Greatest Career Employee Has Passed TOPICS:Joe Del Balzo Joe Del Balzo • From an entry engineer position he rose to the top position in the FAA • Rare for a career employee to occupy the political positions • Tremendous talent with people, comand of numbers and a highly credible spokesperson for aviation safety Joe Del Balzo is no longer with us. He passed last week after a courageous battle with cancer. Those who loved him take great comfort that our friend was immediately assigned a preferred position in heaven. God had long heard of the many good things that this selfless, caring, devout man had done. Joe was a New Yorker through and through. The New York Post was usually consumed with breakfast. His (not “the”) Giant team was his #1 sports focus; to find him on a weekend, consultation with the NFL schedule would reveal his location at game time (@ Met Life Stadium, in front of a television or with his son in Philly watching his Giants crush the Eagles, who BLASPHEMY, were adopted by his misguided son). Though Gotham • born and bred, Mr. Del Balzo avoided the NYer stereotype. He was kind, rarely if ever lost his temper, found time for anyone, did not insist that speed prevail over getting to the right answer and would not raise his voice even if highly frustrated. Calm and quiet was his effective management mode. One of his greatest strengths came from his 2 engineering degrees. He knew the numbers and once sure that the figures aren’t lying, Joe’s voice conveyed such confidence that even the staunchest skeptic believed the speakers’ conclusions as though they were being announced at Mount Sinai. That tone-of-voice characteristic made Joe an excellent advocate for safety. It easier to expound why a burdensome requirement must be added than to explain how “less may be more”; proof of this skill was proved in his explanations of SMS really created a higher level of safety by immediately addressing identified, specific risks rather than consuming years to codify a new rule in the CFRs. Apology for adding a personal note. Many years ago, a young, cocky lawyer was added to Administrator Helms’ management team. Mr. Helms insisted on doing business in a different, more business-like manner. The kid Chief Counsel was an apostle of this new rubric. Some of the career senior executives cast aspersions about me, trying to diminish the volume of the Helms gospel. Joe, one of the (if not THE) most respected civil servants, spoke up and made it clear that he agreed with me and the Administrator. That imprimatur from one so revered by his peers made my life a lot less contentious. Joe and I were friends before his intervention; thereafter our friendship was the cornerstone to my career. Miss you Joe. • Joseph Del Balzo • FAA Acting Administrator • Executive Director: Systems Operations, System Development • FAA Director Eastern Region • Director, FAA Technical Center • FAA Chief Technical Officer, Europe, Africa and Middle East. Brussels, Belgium • 36 year FAA career Joseph M. Del Balzo was the President of JDA Aviation Technology Solutions for 28 years. Joe and his company have been a master at offering a wide range of airport and airspace planning, safety, security, training and technology application support to international civil aviation clients. A signature of this team, something about which the founder insisted, was finding solutions. The meat of aviation safety, the FARs, primarily defines what is prohibited. It requires an unusual set of skills to design a solution which both meets the exacting safety standards and provides a practical business option. Joe’s team was able to do that on a regular basis. As a career employee he was selected to serve as FAA Acting Administrator( Jan 1992 – Sep 1993) and Deputy Administrator—the highest positions in the agency and chairs normally occupied by Senate confirmation, i.e., political. His assignment was to provide a steady and constant focus on the key issues and challenges facing FAA and the aviation industry- at the highest levels. He built a clear vision of the agency’s future with FAA’s corporate team and developed a strategy for long-term change that included the development of the first FAA Operational Concept for the Year 2010. Administrator Hinson decided that the technology efforts need a technically knowledgeable LEADER. He named Joe to be the Executive Director of System Operations where he led an organization responsible for: defining requirements for new technology; installing, operating and maintaining all air traffic control systems and facilities; operating the nation’s air traffic control system, and developing and overseeing safety regulations for all aircraft, airline and airmen in the US system. He coordinated the participation of National Airspace System users, operators and producers, in the development of FAA’s Annual Strategic Plan. Joe’s career started at the bottom of the FAA ladder as an entry level engineer. He moved quickly up the career trail. For two years, he was the Chief Technical Advisor for the FAA stationed in Brussels, Belgium, responsible for coordination of research and development efforts between the United States and Europe, Africa and the Middle East. This work established Joe as the credible spokesman on aviation matters at high-level government-to-government and ICAO His first major appointment, testifying to his reputation for technical issues was as the Director of the FAA Technical Center, the research branch for all aspects of the FAA- aircraft, airport, air traffic, security and other disciplines that would benefit from laboratory analysis. where he achieved national and international recognition for the Center in areas of airport and airspace systems analysis, aircraft fire safety, electronic systems testing and pilot judgment studies. Administrator Helms recognized that Joe’s engineering strengths were equaled or surpassed by his ability to deal with people. The New Yorker returned to the greater metropolitan area from which he ran the Eastern Region as its Director. He was a Fellow of the America Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; a former member of the Board of Directors and former Chairman of the Air Traffic Control Association; a former member of the Civil Tilt-Rotor Advisory Committee; a member of the editorial board of Air Traffic Control Quarterly, and former member of the Board of Directors of Weather Information Technologies, Inc. Mr. Del Balzo, an instrument-rated pilot, held engineering degrees from Manhattan College and Drexel University, and an Honorary Doctor of Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He attended Princeton University on a one-year fellowship in Public Policy and International Affairs. All of JDA is disconsolate in losing our friend, role model (in the true sense of the word) and inspirational leader. •Author and NYC native Washington Irving started using the term in 1807 in his satirical periodical, Salmagundi. It’s believed that he was inspired by a folk tale called “The Wise Men of Gotham.” In it, residents of England’s Gotham village catch wind that King John will be traveling through their town. Knowing that the king’s visit would bring chaos and turn their quiet village into a circus, the citizens of Gotham decided to feign madness—believed to be contagious at the time—to encourage the king to find another path. They put their plan into action by performing crazy stunts, including trying to drown an eel in a pond and building a fence around a bush to prevent a cuckoo from escaping. The shenanigans worked in this story—King John bypassed Gotham in favor of a town with more sense. By repeatedly using “Gotham” in a publication created to lampoon New York culture, Irving was poking a little fun at the city and its residents by comparing it to a village where people pretended to be crazy. New Yorkers embraced the moniker, either not aware that Irving was mocking them, or out of pride for being considered craftily crazy. http://jdasolutions.aero/blog/faas-greatest-career-employee-has-passed/ Curt Lewis