President Obama’s choice to head the National Transportation Safety Board is winning unanimous praise in aviation circles, and for good reason. Christopher Hart, an NTSB board member since 2009, is an active GA pilot who holds a commercial license with multi-engine and instrument ratings. He will succeed Deborah Hersman, who left the NTSB to head the National Safety Council, as head of the agency responsible for investigating transportation accidents in the United States.
Hart has been serving as NTSB vice chairman since October 2013. Before joining the board he was the deputy director for air traffic safety oversight at the FAA from 2005 to 2009 and was the assistant administrator for system safety at the FAA from 1995 to 2005. From 1994 to 1995 he served as deputy administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He was also an NTSB board member from 1990 to 1993.
