FAA Administrator Steve Dickson Steps Down

Miriam McNabb

3 years ago

(News and Commentary.) FAA Administrator Steve Dickson has announced that he will step down from the position on March 31, midway through the 5-year term that started in August of 2019. Dickson says that he is leaving to “devote my full time and attention” to his family.

The former Delta Airlines executive was appointed by President Donald Trump. In the last few years, the FAA has faced numerous challenges: from handling the Boeing airline issues that appeared before Dickson’s appointment to the major problems commercial airlines have faced during the pandemic.

In a statement, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he is grateful for FAA Administrator Steve Dickson’s “years of service to our country and his lifelong dedication to making sure our aviation system is the best and safest in the world.”

There is no news about who will replace Dickson as FAA Administrator. For the drone industry, the stakes are high. Dickson announced the ARC for BVLOS flight in June of 2021: in his keynote speech at AUVSI’s Xponential in August, he said that the agency expected feedback from the ARC in late fall and to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) hopefully by the end of 2021.

The FAA has not yet issued an NPRM: and as the rules on Remote ID published at the end of 2020 face legal challenges, 2021 passed without a major advancement in regulations. Congress seems to have been focused on drone platform security risks, rather than the commercial applications of drones. As the pandemic winds down, the drone industry can hope that the FAA will be given the resources and space to move forward on supporting the commercial industry.

Brian Wynne of AUVSI, the leading commercial drone advocacy group, has issued a statement thanking FAA Administrator Steve Dickson for his service:

AUVSI thanks Administrator Dickson for his service, leadership, and dedication to aviation safety. As he stated in his departure letter, “The agency is in a better place than it was two years ago, and we are positioned for great success,” and I couldn’t agree more. As a member of the FAA’s Management Advisory Council (MAC), I had the opportunity firsthand to watch the serious nature of Administrator Dickson’s attention to detail and focus on safety.

The drone and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industries represented by AUVSI benefitted from Administrator Dickson’s leadership in advancing steps toward the safe integration of drones in the national airspace and movement towards enabling AAM operations in the future with new, advanced technologies like Vertical Takeoff and Lift (VTOL). Administrator Dickson led the finalization and implementation of the Remote ID and Operations Over People rules and launched the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC).

AUVSI is grateful for the Administrator’s desire to collaborate closely with industry and other stakeholders. From the FAA Drone Symposium, which AUVSI is proud to host, to AUVSI’s own XPONENTIAL conference and trade show, Administrator Dickson regularly engaged with the drone and AAM industries to provide updates on shared priorities and share insights from his unique position atop the FAA.

I am grateful for his years of solidarity, congratulate him on his successful tenure, and wish him best in his future endeavors. In nominating a new FAA Administrator, I urge Executive Branch leadership to prioritize the continuation of positive trends put in place by Administrator Dickson that support consensus-building, safety, and U.S. leadership in innovation.