By David Shepardson
(Reuters) -The U.S. Senate Wednesday voted 53 to 43 to approve long-time Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford to head the Federal Aviation Administration.
Bedford, the former head of the regional air carrier that operates nearly 1,000 daily flights for major airlines, stepped down last week after more than 25 years leading the airline and was nominated by President Donald Trump.
Approved for a five-year term, Bedford will oversee $12.5 billion in funding to remake the aging U.S. air traffic control system passed by Congress last week.
Bedford, who has been critical of the FAA’s culture and leadership, has also pledged to maintain tough oversight of Boeing, which came under harsh criticism from the National Transportation Safety Board last month for a mid-air emergency involving a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 missing four key bolts.
Democrats have criticized Bedford for refusing to commit to upholding the 1,500-hour training rule for co-pilots.
Bedford’s predecessor, Mike Whitaker, who was nominated by then President Joe Biden and confirmed unanimously in October 2023, opted to step down in January when Trump took office.
The Trump administration plans to completely overhaul the FAA’s air traffic control system after a mid-air collision on January 29 between a U.S. Army helicopter and an American Airlines jet near Washington Reagan National Airport. All 67 people aboard the aircraft died.
The FAA last month said it was shrinking the area around Reagan Washington National Airport where helicopters are allowed to operate.
In March, the FAA imposed permanent restrictions on non-essential helicopter operations around Reagan to eliminate helicopter and passenger jet mixed traffic, including permanently closing one key route after the NTSB made two urgent safety recommendations following the January 29 mid-air collision.
The FAA’s air traffic control network’s woes have been years in the making, but a rush of high-profile mishaps, near-misses and the catastrophic crash in January spiked public alarm and prompted new calls for action.
Bedford will need to decide when to lift the production cap of 38 planes per month on Boeing’s 737 MAX imposed after the January 2024 mid-air emergency.
The FAA is not currently reconsidering its policy of inspecting all Boeing 737 MAXs and 787 Dreamliners before issuing airworthiness certificates for individual planes, rather than delegating those tasks to Boeing.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Diane Craft)
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