Daniel Kevin Elwell served in the

Trump Administration Donald Trump's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican Party ...

as Deputy Administrator of the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

(FAA), and as the Acting Administrator of the FAA in addition to running the

Next Generation Air Transportation System The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is an ongoing United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) project to modernize the National Airspace System (NAS). The FAA began work on NextGen improvements in 2007 and plans to finis ...

. Appointed by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

to become the FAA Deputy Administrator in June 2017, Elwell was promoted to Acting Administrator on January 7, 2018. He was succeeded by

Stephen Dickson Stephen Dickson (16 February 1951 – 18 October 1991) was an American baritone who had an active career in operas and concerts from 1972 through 1990. He was active with the United States's most important opera companies during the 1980s, sharing ...

in August 2019.

Career

Raised in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, Elwell graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in International Affairs from the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

in 1983. He moved on to

Williams Air Force Base Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located in Maricopa County, Arizona, east of Chandler, and about southeast of Phoenix. It is a designated Superfund site due to a number of soil and groundwater contaminan ...

where he earned his pilot wings. FAA Reauthorization signing 2018

Elwell was a Command Pilot for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Air Force Reserve. Elwell fought in the

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

in a combat capacity. Elwell eventually reached the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He retired soon after. For sixteen years, Elwell was a

commercial pilot A commercial pilot licence (CPL) is a type of pilot licence that permits the holder to act as a pilot of an aircraft and be paid for their work. Different licenses are issued for the major aircraft categories: airplanes, airships, balloons, glid ...

for

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

. Elwell also had a role of American Airlines's Managing Director for International and Government Affairs. He also served as a legislative fellow for the late Senator Ted Stevens. While working for Senator Stevens, Elwell was part of other aviation safety programs in Alaska, including the Capstone Program in the

Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta The Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta is a river delta located where the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers empty into the Bering Sea on the west coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. At approximately in size, it is one of the largest deltas in the world. It is larg ...

, as well as the installation of real-time weather cameras at remote airfields and mountain passes. Elwell was named Vice President of the

Aerospace Industries Association The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is an American trade association representing manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military, and business aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, space systems, aircraft engines, missiles, material, and related c ...

in 2008 where he stayed until 2013. Elwell was a civil aerospace manufacturer representative in this capacity where he was an lobbyist for various companies. Elwell joined

Airlines for America Airlines for America (A4A), formerly known as Air Transport Association of America (ATA), is an American trade association and lobbying group based in Washington, D.C. that represents major North American airlines. Profile Mission A4A ...

(A4A) in 2013 where he was the Senior Vice President for Safety, Security, and Operations. Elwell left this role in 2015. Elwell also served as the Senior Advisor on Aviation to

Secretary of Transportation A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

Elaine Chao Elaine Lan Chao (born March 26, 1953) is an American businesswoman and former government official. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the 18th United States secretary of transportation in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, ...

Federal Aviation Administration

Elwell was named acting Administrator of the FAA upon the expiration of the previous Administrator, Michael Huerta's term. From 2006 to 2008, Elwell was the FAA Assistant Administrator for Policy, Planning, and Environment. President

appointed Elwell FAA Deputy Administrator in June 2017. In an interview with

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

in October 2020, Elwell announced he would resign from his position around the end of November.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elwell, Daniel Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from San Diego United States Air Force Academy alumni United States Air Force officers Trump administration personnel Administrators of the Federal Aviation Administration