By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In the aftermath of two fatal 737 MAX crash deaths, the next U.S. Federal Aviation Administration head (FAA) faces challenges in overseeing Boeing (NYSE 🙂 Co.

On Wednesday, the FAA informed Steve Dickson (64), that he would be resigning effective March 31. This was about half way through Dickson’s five-year tenure.

C. B. is one of the potential replacements mentioned by Congress and industry officials. Lee Moak and “Sully” Sullenberger are two examples of potential replacements.

Sullenberger (current U.S. representative on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization) (ICAO) rose to prominence in 2009 after landing safely an Airbus A320 on New York City’s Hudson River (NYSE) River, following hitting a flock of Geese – the so-called “Miracle on the Hudson” flight.

Moak is currently an American citizen. He was a past president of the Air Line Pilots Association. The Postal Board of Governors.

The FAA was headed by Dickson as it handled a thorough review of then-grounded Boeing 737 MAX. In late 2019, Dickson took a strong line and warned that Boeing had a “return-to-service plan that was not realistic.”

Dickson flew the aircraft in September 2020 as a test pilot before authorizing its return. This included thorough training, software upgrades and extensive testing.

After two fatal crashes in five months that claimed 346 lives, the single-aisle aircraft with highest sales was put on hold for 20 months. It returned to service in 2020.

Deciding to approve sweeping legislation that would increase the FAA’s supervision of aircraft manufacturers in 2012, Congress passed it. It required disclosure of crucial safety information, and provided new protections for whistleblowers.

Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said in a statement on Thursday “there is much work still to do to maintain America’s leadership in aviation- implementing congressionally-mandated safety reforms, training a workforce skilled in advanced technology, and furthering aerospace research and development.”

Additionally, the incoming administrator will be faced with headaches related to the deployment of 5G Wireless on the C Band spectrum. Last month major airlines had to cancel or rejig U.S. flight cancellations due in part because the network was suspected of interfering with radio altimeters and sensitive aviation electronics.

Telecommunications companies AT&T (NYSE:) and Verizon (NYSE:) agreed to keep 5G towers off last month’s network rollout, postponing their deployment until early July, and to take “additional steps to minimize energy coming from 5G base stations – both nationwide and to an even greater degree around public airports and heliports.”

The FAA recently conducted test flights with active 5G, carrying AT&T and Verizon engineers onboard, and the agency is “still doing the analytics right now,” Dickson said. It’s truly unprecedented that we are working with an industry which doesn’t regulate ….. That’s part of what had to happen.

Dickson claimed that Boeing made major changes to its engineering structure in the last years. Dickson also stated Thursday that they have improved their discipline and are confident about our supervision of the product.

Boeing Dreamliners are still under review by the FAA, which on Tuesday denied that Boeing could self-certify.

Boeing entered into a January 2021 deferred prosecution agreement, which included $2.5 billion in compensation and fines arising out of the 737 MAX crash.

Peter DeFazio of the House Transportation Committee stated that President Joe Biden should now “naim a new leader dedicated to the highest standards in aviation safety” as well “hold Boeing accountable to the tragic results of their decision “to put profit over people” when they introduced the 737 MAX.

Dickson claimed Thursday that his safety group “knows I’m there for them.”