FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Ali Bahrami, who steered the agency’s efforts through the Boeing Max crash reviews, is stepping down at the end of June. Bahrami has spent nearly 28 years with the agency in various positions, including as an FAA engineer and manager of the Transport Airplane Directorate. During that time, he has held responsibilities that included leading validation efforts for the Airbus A380 and certification of the Boeing 787.
Bahrami left the agency in July 2013 to become v-p for civil aviation at the Aerospace Industries Association, and rejoined the FAA in July 2017 to serve in his current capacity. His career spans more than four decades, including a 10-year stint with Douglas Aircraft.
Bahrami has garnered respect within the industry for taking a thoughtful approach to managing safety, particularly through the pandemic, and for his deep technical background. “We are truly appreciative of his willingness to listen to and work with the industry in advancing key initiatives as well as his steady leadership in the most challenging of times,” said Timothy Obitts, National Air Transportation Association president and CEO.
“Under Bahrami’s guidance, the FAA Aviation Safety organization became more agile, consistent, and better positioned for the future through strategic planning and collaborative engagements to advance integration of new and emerging technologies,” added NATA v-p of regulatory affairs and former long-time FAA official John McGraw. “Bahrami stood by flexibility, innovation, proactive methods, and collaboration between government and industry as keys to success for continuous safety improvement—methodology that would serve the FAA and industry well as we worked together to continue safe and efficient essential operations throughout the pandemic.”
NBAA thanked Bahrami for his decades-long service at the agency, saying it “applauded Bahrami’s unique focus on pioneering risk-based safety programs.” The association also credited his perspectives with “providing informed, yet nimble responses” to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Ali’s tireless leadership and constant focus on continued improvement and innovation in safety thinking has undoubtedly made aviation safer,” said Doug Carr, NBAA’s senior v-p of safety, security, sustainability, and international operations. “While providing critical guidance in this pandemic year, he has kept his eye on the horizon, with his unwavering support for data-driven programs such as ASIAS [Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing system], and other programs to ensure that risks to safety are data-driven, analyzed, and shared.”
Meanwhile, National Air Carrier Association president and CEO George Novak congratulated Bahrami on his retirement. “Ali’s leadership, dedication, and collaborative work throughout his distinguished public and private sector career have helped to advance the safety of global civil aviation by validating new commercial aircraft systems and promoting international cooperation on aviation safety issues,” Novak said. “We are grateful for his public service.”
However, his return to the agency has been marked by a series of hearings on Capitol Hill and intense scrutiny in the wake of the October 2018 and March 2019 Max crashes. The families of the victims of these crashes in recent months have called upon Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to fire Bahrami, along with other FAA senior officials such as Administrator Steve Dickson, who came on board in August 2019. The families allege that the FAA leadership has been protecting Boeing.
In reaction to news of Bahrami’s upcoming departure, family members reiterated their call for further changes at the agency. The FAA has come under fire for the original Max certification process, which culminated in approval in March 2017, four months before Bahrami rejoined the FAA.
This article has been updated with additional comments.
