The US Federal Aviation Administration is set to announce a new administrator, after 18 months of being without a Senate-confirmed chief.
The US Senate has voted 52 to 40 in favour of Steve Dickson, a Donald Trump nominee for the post.
Dickson replaces Dan Elwell, who has served as acting administrator since January 2018.
The announcement comes as the FAA grapples with an ongoing review of Boeing’s grounded 737 Max planes following two crashes that killed a total of 346 people in October and March.
US Department for Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao commented: “With decades of experience in the airline industry overseeing flight operations, and service to our country as a United States Air Force officer, Captain Dickson is highly qualified to lead the FAA."
Dickson is recently retired from Delta, where he was responsible for safety and performance of the airline’s global operations, pilot training, crew resources, scheduling and regulatory compliance.