Phil
Washington, once the CEO of Denver International Airport, is President Joe
Biden’s choice to lead the Federal Aviation Administration.
According to Fox News, Washington had initially failed to
advance last year after concerns about his limited experience in the aviation
industry were put forth. We found out why some had misgivings during his recent
Senate confirmation hearings.
Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), a licensed pilot, had seven questions for
Washington that one would expect an FAA administrator to know. Instead, Washington
managed to go 0-for-7.
(The clip of his ubiquitous ignorance has gone viral.)
The first of these queries concerned what airspace requires the
use of an ADS-B transponder. These devices are typically combined with a GPS, in
order to transmit highly accurate positional information to ground controllers
and other aircraft. These “ADS-B Out” transmissions are more accurate than
conventional radar surveillance, thereby affording air traffic controllers the
potential to reduce the required separation distance between aircraft that are
so equipped.
Washington was unfamiliar with this important device-- or the
use thereof.
Sen.
Budd then asked: “What are the six types of special use airspace that protect …
national security that appear on FAA charts?”
Washington
replied: “Sorry, senator, I cannot answer that question.”
Sen.
Budd: “What are the operational limitations of a pilot flying under BasicMed?”
Washington:
“Senator, I’m not a pilot, so…”
(BasicMed is
a program that allows pilots to fly without a medical certificate, provided
they only fly certain kinds of planes with limited weight, size and
passengers, etc.)
Budd then noted that Washington
would be overseeing the Federal Aviation Administration, and re-queried
him: “So any idea what those restrictions are under BasicMed?”
Washington responded, “Well, some
of the restrictions, I think, would be high blood pressure, some of them would
be—”
At which point Budd cut him off,
saying, “It’s more like how many passengers per
airplane, how many pounds in different categories and what altitude you can fly
under. It doesn’t have anything to do with blood pressure.”
Budd
proceeded to ask Washington if he had any idea what causes a plane to spin
or stall.
Washington
did not.
He
was then asked if he knew the three types of certifications the FAA requires as
part of aircraft manufacturing.
Unsurprisingly
at this point, he answered “No.”
(They are type certificate, production
certificate and airworthiness certificate, if you’re playing along at home.)
Senator
Budd-- in a seemingly unwarranted fit of optimism-- then stated, “Let’s just
keep going and see if we can get lucky here,” before asking the final two
questions.
They
didn’t get lucky, as Washington couldn’t answer either of those queries,
either. As you probably guessed.
We
cannot be sure if Washington would have been able to successfully answer other,
simpler aviation-related questions, such as “Where is the cockpit placed on a typical
airplane?” or “What does an air traffic controller do?” Perhaps Washington
would have fared better if the questions were, “Can you name two major American
airlines?” or “What do we call the person who flies a plane?” Or perhaps not.
George Washington would have had better answers, and the
airplane wasn’t invented until 104 years after he passed away.
Kamala Harris as Vice-president, Pete Buttigieg as
Transportation Secretary? And now Biden nominates Phil Washington to head the
FAA? How will he top this, if, God forbid, he wins re-election in 2024? Will he
nominate Joy Behar to be Secretary of State, Rob Reiner to head Housing and
Urban Development, Lori Lightfoot to be Ambassador to Ukraine, and the
Pillsbury Doughboy to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services?
Due to the Brandon Biden administration’s
policies, air travel is sadly becoming ever more fraught with danger. Moreover,
one could accurately characterize the entire administration’s reign to this
point as a virtual—and literal-- train wreck.
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