Ali Bahrami, Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) vice president for civil aviation, will be appointed associate administrator for aviation safety for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to an FAA spokesperson.
Before joining the AIA in 2013, Bahrami held several positions with the FAA and also was a senior engineer with Douglas Aircraft.
No date has been set for the official announcement or when Bahrami will begin his new job.
The position of associate administrator for aviation safety has been vacant since Margaret Gilligan retired at the end of March after serving 37 years with the FAA.
“During her tenure here, our aviation system has become the model for all modes of transportation and for many other industries,” FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said. “When we think about where aviation safety was versus where it is today, we can all agree that our collaboration with the aviation industry and the safety measures Peggy has championed have had amazing results.”
Gilligan won numerous awards during her time at the FAA including the Roger W. Jones Award for executive leadership and the Robert J. Collier Trophy for the Commercial Aviation Safety Team strategy reduced fatal accidents.
Gilligan’s department employed more than 7,000 people and had a budget of $1 billion.