Why is she taking such a tough job?

WASHINGTON -- At first glance, running the Federal Aviation Administration sounds like a great job.

Marion Blakey, who was nominated for the job recently, would get a $150,000 salary, a big office with a spectacular view of Washington and free rides in the government's luxurious Gulfstream jet.

But FAA administrator can be one of the most unforgiving jobs in town. You get pummeled by Congress and whipsawed by the news media. You have to put up with angry labor unions, cantankerous employees and the occasional grieving family member.

When the critics call your agency incompetent or "moribund," you have to keep a stiff upper lip and pretend you're not bothered.

Aviation analyst Darryl Jenkins said the job "is not something you would want even your worst enemy to have."

It is a no-win situation, he said: "No matter what you do, it will never be enough. If there's a crash, you will be personally blamed."

So why would Blakey leave a comfortable position as chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board for the FAA job?

As head of the NTSB, an independent watchdog agency, she has enjoyed high visibility (you've probably seen her on Today or Good Morning America), a $138,200 salary, and virtually no critics. People don't get mad at the watchdog.

Blakey, 54, initially turned down the FAA job. But she changed her mind after a request from White House chief of staff Andrew Card, a longtime friend.

In an interview, Card acknowledged that "the FAA job is not one she applied for" but said Blakey was the right choice because of her experience at the NTSB and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which she headed in 1992-93.

"I like how she manages difficult bureaucracies," Card said. "I like how she communicates inside and outside of organizations. I happen to feel she had the tools to meet the challenge."

Peter Goelz, former managing director of the NTSB, said running the FAA can be rough and tumble. He said the agency "has got a lot of smart people working for it -- and it's awfully tough to manage smart people."

Goelz said that because the administrator is focused on life-or-death issues, "your smallest setbacks can be front-page news."

The FAA, an agency of 48,000 employees that operates the air traffic system and regulates pilots and aircraft, has long been an easy target.

John Nance, a novelist and airline pilot, said after the 1996 ValuJet crash that the FAA was "a moribund agency, unable to move quickly. The agency is driven by paranoia they'll get sued or make a mistake."

Michael Pangia, a former FAA lawyer, has said the FAA, has a $14-billion budget, is hampered by "layer upon layer of bureaucracy."

Jane Garvey, the current FAA administrator, is routinely lambasted in editorial pages, especially USA Today. Garvey recently joked that she was still hoping for a USA Today editorial that would be headlined "The FAA: Hip, Cool and Doing It Right."

Garvey, who is leaving Aug. 4 because she has completed the standard five-year term, said the job can be hard.

"There are some days that are very difficult and you do wonder about whether you can meet the challenges," she said. "But at the same time, if you know you are taking the right steps and are doing all you can, you have to draw some strength from knowing that you are making a difference."

Goelz said it is "exhilarating" to be in a room when important decisions are made, in contrast to being at the NTSB, which can make recommendations but has little power.

"When you are at the NTSB, it is a wonderful job, but because of its independence and its very unique role, you are by definition outside of the policymaking circle," Goelz said.

He said Blakey "wanted to be in the circle."

John Cox, a St. Petersburg pilot who is executive air safety chairman for the Air Line Pilots Association, said the FAA job "is the place to leave your mark on aviation. It's a real opportunity to make a difference."

It's unlikely Blakey will face much opposition for Senate confirmation. Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, the South Carolina Democrat who chairs the Commerce Committee, has praised her and plans to hold confirmation hearings soon.

Once she is confirmed, she faces a long list of challenges: modernizing the air traffic control system, reducing flight delays and preparing for a wave of retirements by air traffic controllers.

Jenkins, the aviation analyst, says it's difficult to be an aggressive manager at the FAA because government rules protect career employees. "For 20 years, the FAA's been totally unresponsive to everything," he said. "They are starting to change the culture, but it's going to take a long time."

Blakey declined to comment, but she has often said she wants to improve transportation safety. And she has hinted that she's willing to take chances.

In a May commencement speech at the College of Aeronautics in New York, she quoted a line that Charles Lindbergh used after his historic trans-Atlantic flight: "What kind of man would live where there is no daring?"

-- Bill Adair can be reached at (202) 463-0575 or adair@sptimes.com.

Marion Clifton Blakey

Nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration

AGE: 54.

BIRTHPLACE: Gadsden, Ala.

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in international studies, Mary Washington College.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board, 2001-present; principal of Blakey & Associates, a Washington, D.C., public affairs consulting firm, 1993-2001; administrator of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1992-1993; assistant secretary for public affairs, Department of Transportation, 1990-92; director of public affairs, Department of Commerce, 1989-90; deputy assistant to Vice President and President George Bush for public affairs and communication, 1988-89; special assistant for public affairs to President Ronald Reagan, 1987-88; director of public affairs, Department of Education, 1985-87.

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