By Jane Calderwood
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt spoke at today’s International Aviation Club Luncheon and opened his speech by announcing his topic was ‘dirt’. An interesting enough opening to get the room’s attention, especially when he explained it wasn’t Washington “dirt”, i.e. the latest gossip; he would be discussed but the “wipe your feet on the mat” dirt.
Randy Babbitt
He went on to use dirt as a metaphor for the proverbial bumps in the road that the aviation industry faces. One specific bump he discussed was the recent over flight of Northwest Flight 188, where the pilots showed a total lack of situational awareness. He noted that with the push at FAA to reinforce the need for professionalism – which “I cannot regulate” – the Northwest incident was extremely disappointing.
The Administrator also discussed the need for getting rid of the “bumps” in implementing NextGen and Air Traffic Control Modernization. Babbitt said we need to “harmonize” with the rest of the world in order to create a seamless weave of technology, rules and purpose the in order to ensure a smooth ride.