NATA Welcomes Former FAA Deputy Director of Flight Standards Service John McGraw 

Alexandria, VA, July 8, 2013 – The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is pleased to announce that John McGraw, former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Deputy Director of Flight Standards Service, has joined NATA as its head of regulatory affairs, effective July 1.

McGraw held several key leadership positions at the FAA before retiring in December 2012.  He is currently President of John McGraw Aerospace Consulting, LLC.

“John brings more than 40 years of aviation experience, including nearly two decades working at the highest levels of the FAA, and we are thrilled that he will be leading regulatory affairs at NATA,” said Thomas L. Hendricks, President and CEO of the National Air Transportation Association.  “John’s aeronautical expertise, in everything from flight test standards and FAA rulemaking to aircraft certification and flight system evaluation will be sure to benefit our member companies and the general aviation industry as a whole.”

As the FAA’s Deputy Director of Flight Standards Service from 2008 to 2012, McGraw oversaw agency divisions that administered policies for aviation safety inspectors as well as guidance for the aviation industry.  McGraw’s previous assignments in the FAA include manager of the Flight Standards’ Flight Technologies and Procedures Division (AFS-400), where he was responsible for developing and implementing new airspace navigation technology.  He also served in several key management positions at the FAA, including with the Aircraft Certification Service, Aircraft Engineering Division, and others.

Prior to joining the FAA, McGraw was a Department of Defense Test Director/Test Pilot for the U.S. Army Aviation Technical Test Center and a Flight Test Engineer for the U.S. Navy Rotary Wing Test Directorate at the Naval Air Test Center in Patuxent River, Maryland.  He served 24 years in the U.S. Army and is a U.S. Army Master Aviator with more than 4,000 hours of flight time.

McGraw holds a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University.

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NATA, the voice of aviation business, is the public policy group representing the interests of aviation businesses before Congress and the federal agencies.