Originally published at: Bedford Confirms Lack Of Commercial Ticket - AVweb
Admission comes in written statement to Senate Commerce Committee.
Capt. Sully Sullenberger releases a statement in opposition of FAA Administrator nominee Bryan Bedford:
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The ability to successfully lie for 15 years in the corporate environment is what catapulted him to the head of the list for this job under King Trump. Within the GA community, this is stolen valor.
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I’ll play devil’s advocate for a moment and say that whoever wrote that bio of him misunderstood what his actual qualifications were. Ok, fine, that happens. But as CEO, the buck stops with him. Did he not even review the bio that was written about him, to make sure it was accurate? If not, that raises some serious questions about his lack of engagement with all aspects of the business. If he did, that also raises some serious questions about his integrity. And in 15 years, did no one else at the company notice this discrepancy?
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He may be a capable administrator, who knows? But he knows that he lied about his ticket. It enhances his reputation and he assumed no one would check. And his own sense of honor wasn’t bothered by the lie. Should fit right in with the current administration, though perhaps not with all those being regulated.
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I doubt that holding a commercial rating was a prerequisite for holding a management CEO position in any company. Nor should it be a requirement to hold an FAA position. It does discredit Bedford but not necessarily his abilities. If we looked into every pilot’s logbook, most would find more than a few pencil whipped entries for the purpose of gaining a rating. And if we held all polititicians false statements against them, Washington would be empty.
But you couldn’t resist inserting your political views with the “king” comment. Which tells us you wouldn’t approve of anything or anybody as long as he is President. And doesn’t that comment put your credibility the same as Bedford’s?
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Totally agree with Sully on this. However, not all experience hours are equal. 1500 hours flying around in the pattern as a flight instructor doesn’t bring much to the right seat of a commercial jet. The 1500-hour rule was put in place for safety reasons. It’s the best they could do. Removing it is only in the interest of commercial air carriers who just want more and more aircraft in the air. If the FAA truly controlled the industry, they would limit the number of flights available at any time. There is a limit to what the system can handle and it’s likely been exceeded long ago. All of these issues would go away if they did just that. Will it ever happen? Not a chance!
He’s already betrayed the trust of the public. Find another candidate! If he lies about his credentials, what’s next?
Maybe not, but either being unaware of his false bio or allowing it to persist for 15 years does call into serious question his integrity to lead an organization that holds all of us mere mortal pilots to a higher standard that its leader apparently is to be held against.
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A couple of comments on points made so far:
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The FAA doesn’t “control the industry”, it “regulates” it. Any parent will tell you they can’t control their kids, but they do their best to regulate their time, behavior, and risk exposure. Children and industry exceeding prudent limitations is a given.
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Padding a resume is expected. The distinction between “leading a team” and “was part of a team” is often ambiguous, and as often fudged upward on a job application. The trick is to know when you can get away with it, and when you’re liable to be fact-checked. That such an easily verified fact went uncorrected in Beford’s resume for decades, says a lot about his fundamental honesty, attention to detail, and frankly, intelligence. Especially when a commercial ticket is far from a prerequisite for the job.
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It appears that his resume also had an easily-corrected error regarding his CPA license.
Having read the entire transcript I assume that Bedford was provided with the questions before the hearing. Is it possible that all of his responses were provided by ChatGPT?
“However, due to weather, I was unable to complete my FAA check ride before switching jobs and therefore did not formally obtain my commercial flight license.”
“Formally obtain”? But he did obtain it informally? That’s the kind of totally dissembling comment I would expect of a high schooler caught cheating on a test: “I did all the studying but didn’t formally take the test by myself.” I think it betrays a significant character flaw…so he’ll fit in nicely with this administration.
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No criminal background? No convictions? No chainsaw-massacre plans for the new job? Sounds underqualified for the current dog and pony show.
Vintage Whataboutism.. Pour one out..
As a former US President, I can tell you… Well, I wasn’t formally president. I took all the tests (SAT, ACT, etc.), but didn’t complete an election due to bad weather one day 15 years ago. Still, I’ve been telling people I’m a former US President ever since, and have used it to provide context so I get along with other people. It’s possible I’ve gotten jobs because of this claim, but I’m pretty great, so probably no one cares.
…
If the American people learn anything from this period in our history, it really needs to be that we’ll accept lying from no one, whether they wear our team’s colors or not.
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I was willing to wait and give Mr Bedford the benefit of the doubt, but after reading his politically correct committee answers and Capt Sullenberger’s statement, it’s time to choose another candidate. Mr Bedford’s excuses for the errors on his resume is an insult to every pilot out there who worked their behinds off to earn the ratings and certifications they hold. If a private pilot were to be hired as a commercial pilot and the FAA found out both the company and that pilot would be sanctioned and both lose their certification. Time for AOPA and all the other alphabet groups to wake up and endorse another candidate for FAA administrator.
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Since a commercial pilot rating isn’t a requirement to become an airline CEO nor FAA Administrator, it’s more akin to a pilot lying about a non-disqualifying question on their FAA medical and the FAA finding out about it. That pilot would end up losing their medical, even though if they had answered truthfully in the first place they still would have received their medical certificate.
Would anybody on this forum be given the benefit of the doubt from any FAA inspector if you told him/her that you had a Commercial Rating but in fact didn’t?
They would violate you to the fullest extent of the law without batting an eyelash. And they want this guy to be the FAA Administrator, classic do as I say, not as I do. We can’t lie to the FAA, but he can lie to his company, his shareholders, his BOD and the Senate?
No, not only no, but, HELL NO.
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We keep forgetting, that deceit and lies are now completely proper behavior-traits for leadership positions.
Upon retirement from a major US air carrier I joined FAA as an Air Carrier Operations Inspector 1825. During my time at FAA I conducted 2 investigations into fraudulent pilot certification leading to emergency revocation of their certificates. Bryan Bedford’s claim to have held a Commercial Pilot Certificate and his public statement to have previously flown turbine aircraft, while only holding a Private Pilot Certificate, would have launched an investigation of someone not so well connected. And now he seeks to lead FAA with the support of those who will sign off on his confirmation is contrary to acceptable standards.
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