Departing FAA Leader Says Agency Is Being ‘Nudged’ to Embrace Risk

Chris Rocheleau became acting administrator in January 2025 and is expected to leave the agency this week.

Jack Daleo

Monday, August 03, 2026 at 01:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Deputy FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau is soon expected to depart the agency and return to his role as chief operating officer of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). [Credit: NBAA]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA is being urged to embrace "more risk" for uncrewed drone integration, creating a "healthy tension" with its traditional safety-first culture.
The agency's long-awaited Part 108 rule for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations is contentious, with industry seeking certainty and pilots raising safety concerns.
Ongoing Air Traffic Control (ATC) modernization, including digitizing systems and AI-powered solutions, is deemed crucial by the FAA for safely scaling future drone operations and advanced air mobility.

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The FAA’s departing deputy administrator said Friday that the agency is being “nudged” to embrace “more risk” when it comes to the integration of uncrewed drones.

Chris Rocheleau, who is expected to rejoin the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) this week after serving as FAA deputy administrator since July 2025, was speaking at the Commercial Drone Alliance’s (CDA) American Drone Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., before a crowd of drone industry stakeholders.