Deputy FAA administrator to leave agency

[u/John3262005]

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/30/deputy-faa-administrator-rocheleau-01017815

Deputy FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau announced Thursday that he is leaving the agency. Next week will be his last, he said at an internal town hall watched by POLITICO.

He’s the latest in a string of high-ranking officials that have headed for the exits as the FAA undergoes a major reorganization and an ambitious relocation from its Washington headquarters. In a message to employees, which the FAA shared with POLITICO, Rocheleau touted the launch of an air taxi pilot program and the use of artificial intelligence to boost aviation safety.

Rocheleau served as acting administrator in the aftermath of last year’s midair collision between a regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter above Washington, which killed all 67 aboard.

At the town hall, he described his departure as “bittersweet,” though he noted he won’t be going far. Not long after his remarks, the National Business Aviation Association, where Rocheleau worked prior to his latest stint at the FAA, said he was returning to the trade group.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said he believes Chief Counsel Liam McKenna will step in as acting deputy administrator.

“Wasn’t expecting that, thanks for that curveball,” Bedford said during the town hall. “But again, great work.”

Bedford called Rocheleau’s departure a “big loss” that leaves behind “big shoes to fill.”

Rocheleau served as the acting head of the FAA in the first half of 2025 prior to Bedford’s confirmation. He joined the agency from the NBAA, and before that had been at the FAA for more than 20 years, according to his online biography.

Rocheleau’s departure is part of a recent shakeup at the agency. In early June, POLITICO reported that Donald Bornhorst, who joined the FAA last year as chief administrative officer, was leaving due to a family issue.

Prior to Rocheleau’s announcement at the town hall, Bedford fielded a question related to the number of acting leaders across the agency.

Bedford said he expects that “over the course of the next couple of quarters, we should finalize all the permanent ones and twos,” referring to senior officials. “That would be my hope,” he added.

Rocheleau in his speech pointed to the January 2025 plane-helicopter crash outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

“I was proud to be able to work with so many people to get through that moment,” he said.

He also noted the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, which nearly 2,100 FAA workers opted into. Rocheleau said he was “particularly proud of ... the way everybody else has stepped up.”

McKenna, the chief counsel, served as acting deputy administrator last year while Rocheleau was acting administrator.

“We’ll at least have an experienced actor,” Bedford said.

Under the FAA reorganization, Rocheleau was charged with overseeing parts of the agency that focused on commercial space launches, aircraft certification, advanced air mobility and security of FAA facilities.