NBAA’s Bolen Named to FAA AAM Advisory Committee

National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen was recently selected as one of 12 new appointees to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) Advanced Aviation Advisory Committee (AAAC).

The AAAC provides advice and recommendations to the FAA on key unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and advanced air mobility (AAM) integration issues, interests and policies. AAAC members include executives and stakeholders representing a variety of drone and AAM interests, including industry, research, academia, retail, technology and state and local governments.

“AAM and UAS hold tremendous promise, but it’s extremely important that we bring these aircraft to market safely, and with full consideration of community concerns,” Bolen said. “I am honored to be selected to participate in the AAAC and I appreciate DOT Secretary Buttigieg and FAA Acting Administrator Nolen for giving me the opportunity to bring a business aviation perspective to these issues.”

The latest round of AAAC appointees also includes community stakeholders to raise awareness of potential local and regional concerns with UAS and AAM and advise on ways to advance emerging aviation models while also respecting neighboring communities.

“We have an opportunity in front of us that is going to require a lot of coordination, communication and collaboration,” Bolen added. “Through the AAAC, we can approach issues in the interest of all stakeholders, address questions upfront and mitigate potential concerns while these emerging technologies are still in development.”

Additional AAAC appointees include Jeffrey Keith Antonio Brown, Port of Seattle; Kevin Cox, Ferrovial Vertiports; Karthik Duraisamy, University of Michigan and Geminus.AI; Amit Ganjoo, ANRA Technologies; James Grimsley, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Andrew LeBovidge, National Air Traffic Controllers Association; Okeoma Moronu, Zipline; Melissa Tomkiel, Blade Air Mobility; James Viola, Helicopter Association International and Yolanka Wulff, Community Air Mobility Initiative.

Houston Mills, vice president for Flight Operations and Safety at United Parcel Service, will chair the advisory committee.