Nicholas A. Sabatini became Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, effective Oct. 15, 2001. Mr. Sabatini is responsible for the certification, production approval, and continued airworthiness of aircraft; certification of pilots, mechanics, and others in safety-related positions. He is also responsible for certification of all operational and maintenance enterprises in domestic civil aviation; development of regulations; civil flight operations; and the certification and safety oversight of some 7,300 U.S. commercial airlines and air operators. Mr. Sabatini oversees some 6,800 employees in FAA Washington Headquarters, nine regional offices, and more than 125 field offices throughout the world. The FAA's annual aviation safety budget is over $1 billion.
At the time of his appointment, Mr. Sabatini was director of FAA's Flight Standards Service. From 1990 until May 2001, he was manager of the Flight Standards Division for FAA's Eastern Region. From 1979 to 1990, he served in a variety of aviation operations and management positions in the agency's Eastern Region, as a principal operations inspector, aviation safety inspector, manager of the Flight Standards Division Operations Branch, and assistant manager of the Flight Standards Division. Prior to joining the FAA in 1979, Mr. Sabatini was a pilot for the U.S. Customs Service in New York. From 1958 to 1976, he was a police officer and helicopter pilot for the New York City Police Department. He served in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1958.
Mr. Sabatini holds an airline transport pilot certificate and the following ratings: Airplane multi-engine land, rotorcraft-helicopter, DC-9, CE-500, BH206, EMB110, commercial privileges, airplane single-engine land, as well as flight and ground instructor certificates. He attended the John Jay College of Criminal Justice; the Kellogg School, Northwestern University; and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.
Mr. Sabatini was recognized in 2002 with the Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine's Laurels Award for his vision and actions that expedited the publication of the landmark document, "Criteria for Approval of Category I and Category II Weather Minima for Approach." In 2003, the Air Transport Association's Engineering, Manufacturing and Materiel Committee awarded him its "Nuts and Bolts" award for outstanding contributions to the airline industry. In 2006, the Aircraft Electronics Association recognized Mr. Sabatini with its Industry Partnership Award. In 2007, Aviation Week & Space Technology nominated Mr. Sabatini for a Laureate Award for his leadership in FAA's Aviation Safety organization achieving ISO 9001:2000 registration. This made Aviation Safety the largest government entity to operate under a single Quality Management System. In 2007, Mr. Sabatini was elected a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Mr. Sabatini is a member of the Auburn University Aviation Management Advisory Board. The Board provides guidance in support of the University's aviation management program's instruction, research, and outreach.