Marion Blakey

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'Marion Blakey'

Marion Blakey
Born 1948
Gadsden, Alabama
Occupation Former Public Servant, Chief Executive Officer
Spouse Married
Children one daughter

Marion Clifton Blakey (born March 26, 1948) was the 15th Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. She was the second woman to hold the position, serving as a successor to Jane Garvey, the first woman to hold the Administrator title. She is the second Administrator who was not a licensed pilot.

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[edit] Background

Blakey was born in Gadsden, Alabama in 1948, the daughter of an insurance lawyer and an English teacher. She had one sibling, Leslie.[1] Blakey received her bachelor's degree with honors in international studies from Mary Washington College (1970) of the University of Virginia. She also attended Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (1973) for graduate work in Middle East Affairs,[2] and the University of Florence in Florence, Italy (1969).

She is married to William Ryan Dooley, and they have one one daughter born in 1987.[1]

[edit] Non-governmental service

From 1993 to 2001, Blakey was the principal of Blakey & Associates, now Blakey & Agnew, a Washington, D.C. public affairs consulting firm with a particular focus on transportation issues and traffic safety.[2]

[edit] Prior US government service

Blakey has held four previous Presidential appointments, two of which required Senate confirmation. From 1992 to 1993, Blakey served as Administrator of the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). As the nation's leading highway safety official, she was charged with reducing deaths, injuries, and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. Prior to her service at NHTSA, she held key positions at the United States Department of Commerce, the United States Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the White House, and the United States Department of Transportation.[2]

[edit] NTSB Chairman

NTSB Chairman Marion Blakey (third from right) during the investigation of the tail fin and rudder from American Airlines flight 587.
NTSB Chairman Marion Blakey (third from right) during the investigation of the tail fin and rudder from American Airlines flight 587.

During her tenure as National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman from September 26, 2001 to September 13, 2002, Blakey managed a number of accident investigations including the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in November 2001.[2] Blakey worked to improve the Board's accident reporting process and increased industry and regulatory responsiveness to NTSB safety recommendations. Additionally, Blakey strengthened the Board's advocacy and outreach programs to promote safer travel throughout all modes of transportation. She also furthered development of the NTSB Academy as a national and international resource to enhance aviation safety and accident investigations.[neutrality disputed][2]

[edit] FAA Administrator

Blakey was sworn in September 13, 2002 as the 15th Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. Her commission as FAA Administrator ended on September 13, 2007. In October 2007, the White House indicated they would nominate the acting administrator, Robert A. Sturgell, as her replacement. He had been deputy FAA administrator since 2003.[3]

In 2007, Blakey described the current National Airspace System saying, "We are at a breaking point,"[4] and throughout her tenure she pushed for the Next Generation Air Transportation System, said to improve future air traffic capacity. It was to be funded by a controversial new FAA funding structure based on user fees, but in 2007 Congress instead opted to fund the program by increasing the tax on general-aviation jet fuel.[5]

Some sources blamed the FAA, under Blakey's leadership, in part for increased flight delays that reached or exceeded record levels.[6] Just prior to departure as administrator, she attributed the increased delays on poor scheduling by the airlines at busy airports.[7] In addition, others attributed the increase to bad weather, additional regional jet traffic, fewer air traffic controllers and failures or delays attributed to the antiquated air traffic system which she worked to replace.[4] Shortly after her tenure ended, on September 25, 2007, the Office of the Inspector General issued a report stating, "Based on the first 7 months of the year, it is clear that 2007 may be the busiest travel period since the peak of 2000 and may surpass the 2000 record levels for flight delays, cancellations, and diversions."[8]

The FAA declared an impasse over contract negotiations and imposed work rules including partial pay caps for veteran controllers and an alternative, lower pay scale for new hires on the air traffic controller workforce, represented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). The five-year labor contract in dispute was imposed on Labor Day in 2006 after Congress refused to intervene. The following year the Federal Labor Relations Authority ruled against NATCA's 2006 grievance.[9] In 2006, Blakey said the agency's final proposal would result in current controllers earning an average of $187,000 a year in pay and benefits after five-years, up from the current $166,000 average.[10] NATCA disputed those figures, saying they included overtime needed because of staffing shortages.

In May 2006, she did not anticipate increased retirements saying, "I was very surprised that the union said that there would be retirements triggered under the current proposal."[10] However, 828 controllers retired, exceeding the FAA's initial and revised forecasts.[11] The FAA noted that the agency hired over 1,400 new air traffic controller trainees and employed 14,874 nationwide exceeding 2007's target. Trainees normally take three to five years to complete their training.[12]

She is scheduled to become president and Chief Executive Officer of the industry trade association, Aerospace Industries Association, on Nov. 12, 2007.[13][14]

She came under criticism for accepting a job as head of the trade group which frequently lobbies for the aviation industry on government spending and policy. Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) represents firms her agency oversaw and awarded contracts to during her five-year tenure. "It raises some pretty serious ethics questions," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Scott Amey, general counsel of the Project on Government Oversight, said Blakey's actions fit the public's "worst fear" of government.[15]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Miller, Leslie. “FAA Chief Seeks to Move Industry Out of ‘Dire Straits’” Associated Press. September 14, 2002. Accessed January 31, 2007. (Dead link)
  2. ^ a b c d e Federal Aviation Administration. Marion Blakey Biography. Accessed January 14, 2007.
  3. ^ CNN. Bush to nominate acting FAA chief to be administrator. October 23, 2007.
  4. ^ a b Tracy Samantha Schmidt, "An Answer to Flight Delays?"
  5. ^ Ben Bain, "NextGen funding battle heats up"
  6. ^ ABC News, "Summer of Delays" August 29, 2007.
  7. ^ CNN, "FAA to airlines: Improve scheduling or feds will"
  8. ^ Office of the Inspector General. "Actions Needed to Minimize Long, On-Board Flight Delays" (Project ID AV-2007-077)
  9. ^ Stephen Losey, "Air controllers press Congress to overturn FAA contract"
  10. ^ a b Danial Pulliam, "FAA defends final labor contract offer". May 4, 2006.
  11. ^ Todd Plitt. "Air traffic controller retirements surge"
  12. ^ David McGlinchey, "FAA plans air traffic controller hiring surge"
  13. ^ The New York Times. MATTHEW L. WALD. F.A.A. Chief to Lead Industry Group. August 22, 2007.
  14. ^ The Washington Post. Jeffrey H. Birnbaum. FAA Chief To Become Aerospace Lobbyist. August 22, 2007.
  15. ^ USA Today. Alan Levin. [1]. September 11, 2007.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Jane Garvey		 Federal Aviation Administrator
2002 – 2007		 Succeeded by
Robert A. Sturgell
Acting Administrator