Did you know that to fix parts of our air traffic control equipment, we turned to eBay?

We heard that from a former official from the FAA. He's our guest today. I'm Jenna, and this is

Smarter News. Lawmakers continue to ask questions about how safe it is to fly in America as the investigation

continues into that deadly mid-air collision in Washington, D.C. David Grizzell has more than

40 years of experience in aviation, including as chief operating officer at the FAA, overseeing

air traffic control. He's the perfect

guest to ask the question, how safe are we? I began by learning more about his path to public

service. So, David, you have a really interesting history in aviation, but I'm curious,

how does one go from Harvard Law School to the Y&D path that got you to the FAA?

Talk to us a little bit about that.

Was that in your vision when you were a law school student?

You know, someday, I'm going to be part of the FAA.

How did that work out?

Not even remotely was it in my mind.

I got there because I answered the phone and said yes to interesting

proposals that came my way. And so that took me from one job to another. Eventually it took me to the

FAA. I was very interested to see your path, which included Continental Airlines. So you have some

experience in the business world, obviously with commercial airlines.

But there's a part in your past that I have to ask you a little bit about before we get

to air traffic control.

And this took place between 2004 and 2005, where it says you worked for the US State Department

as part of the Afghanistan Reconstruction Group. That stood out to me, David. What did you do as part of the Afghanistan Reconstruction Group.

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