Administrator Goes In Depth on the FAA’s Next Act

Bryan Bedford discusses ATC modernization, MOSAIC, and hot-button issues facing general aviation.

Ryan Ewing

Friday, July 17, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, sitting down for an interview with Firecrown Media Aviation Division president Ryan Ewing, is replacing decade-long plans with Flight Plan 2026 for measurable results.

Key Takeaways:

Bryan Bedford, leveraging his background as an instrument-rated pilot and airline executive, has introduced an accelerated, results-driven management approach at the FAA, aligning its agenda with President Trump's demand for rapid progress in aviation innovation.
The FAA is aggressively modernizing air traffic control with a target completion of a "brand-new" system by Q4 2028, incorporating advanced automation, AI, and machine learning for strategic flight deconfliction, alongside efforts to streamline controller training and aeromedical processes.
For general aviation, the agency is shifting towards performance-based regulations (e.g., MOSAIC) to foster innovation in light sport and experimental aircraft, while also addressing identified risk areas and the problematic impact of landing fees on ADS-B use.
Bedford identifies the pervasive outdated physical infrastructure of 1960s facilities as the most significant and currently unaddressable long-term challenge due to a lack of funding, despite plans for improvements in personnel, equipment, and data architecture.

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Bryan Bedford took over leadership of the FAA in July 2025 after a long career in commercial aviation, including senior roles at Republic Airways and Frontier Airlines. He is an instrument-rated pilot, an aircraft owner, and one of the few recent agency leaders to arrive in Washington, D.C., with direct experience in both a general aviation cockpit and the airline C-suite.

Some in aviation may also remember him from an appearance on reality TV’s Undercover Boss, a fitting footnote for an executive whose management style has long emphasized seeing operations up close rather than from a distance. So close, in fact, that Bedford can be seen in the show servicing lavatories on a Frontier Airbus jet.