WASHINGTON — Following a devastating midair collision between a commercial airplane and military helicopter that killed 67 people near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, President Donald Trump has named Chris Rocheleau as the acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration. 

What You Need To Know

  • Following a devastating midair collision between a commercial airplane and military helicopter that killed 67 people near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, President Donald Trump has named Chris Rocheleau as the acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration

  • Rocheleau, who has worked at the FAA for 22 years, returned to the agency last week after serving as a senior executive at the National Business Aviation Association

  • Trump has not named a nominee to replace Michael Whitaker, who stepped down last week as FAA administrator, and it was unclear for 10 days who was running the agency

Rocheleau, who has worked at the FAA for 22 years, returned to the agency last week after serving as a senior executive at the National Business Aviation Association. According to the aviation news website AIN, he had been brought back as deputy administrator.

The FAA's previous administrator, Michael Whitaker, stepped down 15 months into a five-year term on Jan. 20. Trump has not named a nominee to replace Whitaker, and it was unclear for 10 days who was running the agency. The position requires Senate confirmation.

Following a sharp uptick in close calls on runways at major airports around the U.S. in 2023, the FAA issued a safety call to action to look at the structure, culture, processes and systems that affect U.S. air traffic safety. Their goal was “zero serious close calls by examining a combination of technical and human factors.”

Among the human factors is a shortage of air traffic controllers. Last year, former President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan FAA reauthorization bill that required the agency to hire and train more air traffic controllers. At the time the bill was signed in May, the FAA had 3,000 vacancies for the role.

In September, the FAA announced it had exceeded its goal of hiring 1,800 air traffic controllers in 2024. It currently has more than 14,000 controllers. According to the FAA, it continuously recruits controllers with prior air traffic experience from the military as well as private industry. 

Air traffic controllers are one of the most specialized and skilled professions in the federal government, the FAA said. Their job is to separate planes, navigate them through the weather and ensure that everyone gets to their destinations safely. 

The FAA reauthorization bill also required the agency to add runway technologies at medium and large airports to help reduce collisions and near-collisions on runways. The law authorized more than $105 billion for the FAA and $738 million for the National Transportation Safety Board through the end of the 2028 fiscal year.

On Thursday, Trump, without evidence, blamed Biden-era policies promoting diversity hiring for the air collision.