Senate Panel Approves Graham for Another NTSB Term

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee this week approved the nomination of Michael Graham to continue to serve on the National Transportation Safety Board through Dec. 31, 2030. Approval, by a 21 to 7 vote, was among a slate of nominations the committee agreed to on March 12, also including Matthew Anderson to be deputy administrator of NASA, and Seval Oz to be assistant secretary of transportation for research and technology.

Graham joined the NTSB on Jan. 3, 2020, after serving as director of flight operations safety, security, and standardization for Textron Aviation. In that role, he was a strong safety advocate in the business aviation community and has continued those efforts since joining the board, speaking at a range of safety seminars to highlight pressing issues. An air transport pilot with 10,000 flight hours, Graham began as an A-7 and F/A-18 pilot with the U.S. Navy. He later served as an F/A-18 aircrew instructor for McDonnell Douglas and Boeing and as an avionics integration engineer.

NBAA welcomed the committee’s action. “NBAA strongly supports Mike Graham’s nomination to continue his outstanding work at the NTSB,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “Mike has demonstrated a dedication to aviation safety throughout his career, and his qualifications speak for themselves. We encourage the Senate to confirm him and ensure he can continue to address the complex safety challenges facing the nation.”

The NTSB currently has three members on the board, including chair Jennifer Homendy and Tom Chapman. Two other members have been removed by the administration over the past year: Alvin Brown, who is suing for reinstatement, and J. Todd Inman, who was dismissed from his duties earlier this month.

The Senate has confirmed a fourth member, John DeLeeuw, who cleared the full Senate vote over objections of Democratic leaders that his vote shouldn’t have taken place while the Brown lawsuit was still ongoing. However, he has not yet sworn in to the role. On the social media platform X, Homendy congratulated the confirmation, though, and said she was looking forward to his swearing in as the 49th board member. As for Inman, he is weighing his options, saying he was dismissed without warning.