After my purgatory in West Chicago and three mostly great years in the Indianapolis FSDO, the FAA offered a transfer to Cincinnati. It was a bittersweet decision, and my boss, Jay Peterson, rather obliquely suggested I might want to stay put. He understood I was anxious to get back home, but he also knew the Cincinnati manager’s reputation for being a hard ass. Jay was a good man and an excellent supervisor, and he was genuinely concerned about me and “Capt. Queeg.”
Unusual Attitudes: An FAA Inspector’s Winding Career Path
Key Takeaways:
- The author accepted an FAA Accident Prevention Specialist (APS) role in Cincinnati, a position often used to sideline inspectors, despite its historical success in improving aviation safety.
- She dedicated herself to creating popular and effective safety programs, often working extensively and fostering direct engagement with pilots and mechanics.
- Her proactive and independent approach frequently clashed with her strict manager and bureaucratic inefficiencies, leading to reprimands and disputes over her methods and perceived insubordination.
- Facing a program overhaul that she believed would end valuable face-to-face interaction, the author chose to retire from the FAA rather than return to less engaging traditional operations work.
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