Who Is John Dunkin? Trump Pushes Personal Pilot For Federal Aviation Administration

With his daughter and son-in-law already occupying top White House positions, President Donald Trump is now pushing his personal pilot for heading the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), reports said Sunday.

According to a report in the Axios, Trump is pushing for his longtime personal pilot John Dunkin to head the FAA. Dunkin flew the president during his 2016 presidential campaign and has been interviewed for the top FAA position.

Some of the top Trump admin officials said they believe Dunkin would be a perfect fit for the mentioned position. They said Dunkin is qualified due to his experience in managing “airline and corporate flight departments.”

An administration official, under the condition of anonymity, said: “[Dunkin is] on the list because he's the president’s pilot, but if he gets the job it won't be because he's the president's pilot.”

"John Dunkin isn't just a pilot. He's managed airline and corporate flight departments, certified airlines from start-up under FAA regulations, and oversaw the Trump presidential campaign's air fleet, which included managing all aviation transportation for travel to 203 cities in 43 states over the course of 21 months,” an official told Axios.

He also said that Dunkin was interviewed for the post and that he was “impressive.”

Dunkin has been serving as Trump’s personal pilot since 1989, according to a documentary made about private planes.

The documentary also mentioned that Dunkin first flew an airplane when he was just 15 years old. He learned to fly a plane even before he learned to drive a car, the documentary said.

During an interview with the Smithsonian Channel’s Mighty Planes, Dunkin once said: "Everything that they did on it is very very spectacular. It's very fast airplane for a large airplane. It's extremely comfortable. It takes turbulence very well. It's kind of like the Ferrari in the airline category airplane."

According to the report, some of the other potential candidates for the position include Republican Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri and current acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell.

Earlier this month, CNN reported that Trump had not recommended anyone to head the FAA, however, he had suggested that it would be better if a pilot would hold the position.

When Trump had met with top airline executives, he mentioned that he knows someone who knew about the nation’s aviation system. However, the president had not named anyone at the time.

"I have a pilot who's a real expert. He said, 'Sir, the equipment they're putting on is just the wrong stuff.' If we're going to modernize our system we should be using the right equipment.' My pilot, he's a smart guy, and he knows what's going on," Trump said at the time.