Christopher A. Hart

Christopher A. Hart
Christopher A. Hart portrait.
13th Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board
Incumbent
Assumed office April 26, 2014
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Deborah Hersman
Personal details
Alma mater	Princeton University Harvard University

Christopher A. Hart is the chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. He served as Acting NTSB Chairman beginning April 26, 2014, and in July 2014 was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as Chairman of the NTSB. He was confirmed to serve as Chairman on Thursday, February 5, 2015.

Hart's family has a tradition of accomplishment in the field of transportation. His great uncle, James Herman Banning, was the first African-American to receive a pilot's license issued by the U.S. Government in 1926.

Hart is a licensed pilot with commercial, multi-engine, and instrument ratings.

From 1973 until joining the Board in 1990, Hart held a series of legal positions, mostly in the private sector. He holds a law degree from Harvard University and master's and bachelor's degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association.

He served as a member of the NTSB from 1990 to 1993. After leaving the Board, he served as Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, before moving to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1995.

Immediately before returning to the Board in 2009, Hart was Deputy Director for Air Traffic Safety Oversight at the FAA. He had been the FAA Assistant Administrator for System Safety.

Hart was sworn in as a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board on August 12, 2009, and designated by President Obama for a two-year term as Vice Chairman of the Board on August 18, 2009. In August 2013, President Obama nominated him for a second term as Board Member and after Senate confirmation of his nomination, the President, in October 2013, designated him for a third term as Vice Chairman. He has served as Acting NTSB Chairman since April 26, 2014 and in July 2014 was nominated by the President to serve as Chairman of the NTSB.