Robert Sumwalt

Robert Sumwalt brings a distinguished career in transportation safety leadership, aviation operations, transportation safety program development, and crisis communications. He was appointed to serve on the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) by three US presidents, where he served for 15 years, including four years as NTSB Chairman.

As an accomplished pilot, Sumwalt logged over 14,000 flight hours as a captain for a major airline, flying the Boeing 727, 737 and Airbus A-320.

A highly sought-after keynote speaker, Sumwalt draws upon his experiences to discuss a broad variety of topics including safety leadership, safety management systems, accident investigation, crisis communications, and safety culture. He has presented more than 300 speeches on transportation safety issues around the world, and he has testified before Congress on 17 occasions. He’s published two books on accident investigation and safety management systems, along with more than 100 articles and papers. He currently serves as on-air transportation safety analyst for CBS News.