Aviation expert Robert Sumwalt assumes full leadership of the National Transportation Safety Board after the Senate confirmed his selection to officially succeed Christopher Hart.
Sumwalt was a commercial pilot for 32 years and helped lead US Airways’ Flight Operational Quality Assurance monitoring team. He then managed the corporate aviation department for a Fortune 500 energy company before joining NTSB in August 2006, when President George W. Bush appointed him to a two-year term as vice chairman.
President Obama reappointed Sumwalt in November 2011 to a five-year term as an NTSB board member. President Trump designated him as vice chairman this past March, and since April Sumwalt has also served as acting chair until the Senate confirmed him as chair on Aug. 3.
