FAA administrator charged with DUI

Randy Babbitt was arrested Saturday night after being spotted driving on the wrong side of the road. Babbitt has requested a leave of absence. From AP:

Babbitt was a former airline captain and internationally recognized expert in aviation and labor relations when President Barack Obama tapped him in 2009 to head the FAA. He was a pilot for the now-defunct Eastern Airlines for 25 years, and had served as president of the Air Line Pilots Association. As head of ALPA in the late 1990s, he championed the "one level of safety" initiative implemented in 1995 to improve safety standards across the airline industry. At FAA, Babbitt has struggled to implement a wide range of safety initiatives, often over the opposition of industry officials who say the measures would cost too much money.