Expert

John DeLisi

Director, Office of Aviation Safety

National Transportation Safety Board

Mr. DeLisi has been with the National Transportation Safety Board since 1992 and was appointed the Director of the Office of Aviation Safety in 2012.

He began his career with the NTSB as an Aircraft Systems Engineer in the Aviation Engineering Division, and was an on-scene investigator for 30 major airline accidents. As a manager and executive, he oversaw major airline accident investigations including the investigation of the Comair accident in Lexington, Kentucky, the ditching of U.S. Airways flight 1549 on the Hudson River, and the Colgan Air accident in Buffalo, New York. Recently, he oversaw the investigation of the Asiana accident in San Francisco as well as the Safety Board’s first commercial spacecraft investigation involving the Scaled Composites/Virgin Galactic SpaceShip 2 flight test accident in Mojave, California. He oversees the work of 100 aviation accident investigators who investigate 1200+ accidents each year. He is a recipient of the NTSB’s Managing Director’s Award and a Presidential Rank Award at the Distinguished level, the highest recognition that the President can bestow an executive in the federal government.

Mr. DeLisi is a cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in Aerospace Engineering and has done graduate work in Engineering Management at Washington University. He holds a private pilot certificate and has multi-engine, instrument, and aerobatic flight experience. Prior to joining the NTSB, Mr. DeLisi was a Flight Test Engineer with McDonnell Douglas, where he was involved in test programs on the F-15 and F/A-18 aircraft.