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Bedford nominated in March, previously led two airlines

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FAA faces scrutiny after safety incidents, including fatal

mid-air collision

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Bedford highlights FAA's reactive safety culture and lack

of

innovation incentives

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) -

U.S. President

Donald Trump's nominee to head the Federal Aviation

Administration says the agency faces serious leadership, trust

and culture issues, according to a Senate questionnaire seen by

Reuters.

The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday

on Trump's nomination of Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford to

head the FAA.

The FAA has come under scrutiny after a series of safety

incidents, especially a January 29 mid-air collision between an

American Airlines ( AAL ) regional jet and U.S. Army helicopter that

killed 67 people.

"The lack of steady and qualified leadership helps to

explain the lack of any coherent strategy or vision for the

agency," Bedford wrote in the questionnaire reviewed by Reuters.

"A malaise has set in whereby managers believe the agency is

helpless to make the necessary changes, and furthermore, they

rationalize it isn't really their fault."

Bedford, a pilot and industry veteran of more than 30 years, was

nominated in March. He previously headed two other carriers and

oversaw a significant expansion of Republic Airways, which

operates regional flights for American Airlines United

Airlines and Delta Air Lines ( DAL ).

Bedford said there was a profound lack of trust with and

within the FAA. He described the agency's organizational

structure as "unwieldy" and said there was a need to urgently

address the agency's "reactive" safety culture.

"The lack of trust makes many managers at FAA reluctant to

speak up for fear of retribution," Bedford wrote.

He cited "failures" like the FAA's Boeing 737 MAX

certification, oversight of chronically delayed air traffic

control implementation, and continued controller shortages.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wants Congress to approve

tens of billions to reform air traffic control and boost

staffing.

"The root cause of FAA's inability to complete its mission

to modernize air traffic systems and effectively manage safety

is the lack of strategic vision and competent leadership,"

Bedford wrote.

The FAA does not encourage risk-taking for innovation,

Bedford added.

"There appears to be no incentive for anyone at FAA to take

any innovation risk for fear that it could fail," Bedford wrote.

"You could say there was an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'

attitude, but that has morphed into a quiet resignation that 'we

can't fix it, but we can do our very best to make the system

work safely today' mindset."