Robert Llewellyn Sumwalt III (born June 30, 1956) is an American academic, aviator, government official and writer. He was a board member of the

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...

for over 15 years, from August 2006 to June 30, 2021, serving as the agency's chairman from 2017 to 2021. He currently serves as the executive director of Embry-Riddle's Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety.

Education

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Aeronautical Science (with Distinction) from

Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is a private university focused on aviation and aerospace programs. Initially founded at Lunken Field in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1926, its main campuses are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott ...

, specializing in Aviation/Aerospace Safety Systems and Human Factors Aviation Systems.

Career

Prior to coming to the board, Sumwalt was a pilot for 32 years, including 24 years as an airline pilot with

Piedmont Airlines Piedmont Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline headquartered at the Salisbury Regional Airport in unincorporated Wicomico County, Maryland, near the city of Salisbury. The airline is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Airlines ...

and

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called ...

. After his airline career, he joined

SCANA SCANA Corporation was a regulated electric and natural gas public utility. The company was based in Cayce, South Carolina, a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. Following the Nukegate scandal, the company's stock fell and the company was in disrep ...

, a

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

energy company, where he managed its corporate aviation department. He logged over 14,000 flight hours and earned type ratings in five aircraft. Sumwalt worked on special assignment to the US Airways Flight Safety Department where he was involved in the development of numerous airline-safety programs. He served on the US Airways Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) Monitoring Team. Sumwalt served as an air safety representative for

Air Line Pilots Association The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) is the largest pilot union in the world, representing more than 59,000 pilots from 35 U.S. and Canadian airlines. ALPA was founded on 27 July 1931 and is a member of the AFL-CIO and the Canad ...

(ALPA) for 17 years where he chaired ALPA's Human Factors and Training Group. He was a co-founder of that organization's Critical Incident Response Program, which provides guidance to airline personnel involved in traumatic events such as accidents. From 1991 to 1999, Sumwalt conducted aviation-safety research as a consultant to

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Aviation Safety Reporting System The Aviation Safety Reporting System, or ASRS, is the United States of America, US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) voluntary confidential reporting system that allows pilots, air traffic controllers, cabin crew, dispatchers, maintenance te ...

, where he studied flight-crew human factors. Sumwalt co-authored a book on aircraft accidents and he wrote chapters pertaining to aircraft accident investigation in two books. He has written extensively on aviation-safety matters, having published over 90 articles and papers. In 2003, Sumwalt joined the faculty of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

's Aviation Safety and Security Program, where he was the primary human-factors instructor. He was sworn in as the 37th member of the

on August 21, 2006, whereupon President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

designated him as vice chairman of the board for a two-year term. In November 2011, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

reappointed Sumwalt to an additional five-year term. In March 2017, 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 ...

reappointed Sumwalt to a five-year term expiring on December 31, 2021 and designated him as Vice Chairman for a term of two years. President Trump subsequently nominated Sumwalt to be NTSB chairman, and in August 2017, the U.S. Senate confirmed Sumwalt to be NTSB's 14th chairman. In 2019, President Trump again nominated him for Chairman of the NTSB. He was reconfirmed by the U.S. Senate in July 2019 for a three-year term as Chairman. He succeeded

Christopher A. Hart Christopher A. Hart is an American lawyer, government official, and pilot. He served as the 13th chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. He served as Acting NTSB Chairman beginning April 26, 2014, and in June 2014 was nominated by Pr ...

in this role. While on the board, he was an advocate for improving safety in all modes of transportation, including teen-driver safety, impaired driving, distractions in transportation, and several rail-safety initiatives. In 2018 while discussing

Air Canada Flight 759 On July 7, 2017, an Airbus A320 family#A320, Airbus A320-211 operating as Air Canada Flight 759 was Near miss (safety), nearly involved in an Aviation accidents and incidents, accident at San Francisco International Airport in San Mateo County, ...

, Sumwalt described

NOTAM A Notice to Airmen/Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM), is a notice filed with an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the flight. NOTAMs are unclassified notices or ...

s as "a bunch of garbage that nobody pays any attention to". This led to an initiative to reform the NOTAM system. Sumwalt retired from chairmanship and membership of NTSB on June 30, 2021. In addition to his current role with Embry-Riddle, Sumwalt is a safety analyst with CBS News and volunteer board member of the Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure.

Honors

In recognition of his contributions to the aviation industry, in September 2021, Sumwalt was awarded the Flight Safety Foundation - Boeing Aviation Safety Lifetime Achievement Award. He also received the

Flight Safety Foundation The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) is an independent, nonprofit, international organization concerning research, education, advocacy, and communications in the field of aviation safety. FSF brings together aviation professionals from all sectors ...

's Laura Taber Barbour Award in 2003 and ALPA's Air Safety Award in 2005. He is a 2009 inductee into the South Carolina Aviation Hall of Fame. In recognition of his accomplishments, Sumwalt was awarded an honorary Doctor in Science degree from the University of South Carolina and an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Publications

References

External links