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connected. The atcnotforsale website states, “According to the FAA Administrator, over the past five years, NextGen has delivered benefits to the aviation industry and traveling public that are on time and on budget. Significant progress has occurred on modernization programs including ADS-B, a GPS- based surveillance technology that provides direct routings and GPS tracking of aircraft. The FAA also created 4,000 GPS approaches offering precision guidance to the runway without the need for ground based equipment.”
The latest snag that has been introduced regarding privatizing ATC is that it would add a large sum to the federal deficit over the next 10 years. Just another point to debate in this multi-faceted, disputed bill.
The FAA’s legal authority expires at the end of September. We will see if another extension is in order or if the bill moves on.
New NTSB Chairman Confirmed
Robert L. Sumwalt III was sworn in as the 14th chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in early August. Sumwalt’s nomination for a two- year term by President Trump was confirmed by the Senate August 3. The aviation community was ex- pecting the confirmation as Sumwalt has been serving as the agency’s acting chairman since March 31 of this year.
years with Piedmont Airlines and US Airways, accumulating more than 14,000 flight hours. During his tenure at US Airways he worked on special assignment to the flight safety department and also served on the airline’s Flight Operational Quality Assurance monitoring team. Sumwalt chaired the Air Line Pilots Association’s Human Factors and Training Group and
critical incident response program. He also spent eight years as a consultant to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System and has written extensively on aviation safety matters. KA
Aviation groups welcome Sum-
walt as he has vast experience
in the aviation industry, with an
added interest in safety. The new
chairman began his tenure with
the NTSB in 2006 appointed by
President George W. Bush. Before
joining the NTSB Sumwalt was a
pilot for 32 years, including 24 co-founded the association’s
SEPTEMBER 2017
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 13