The FAA appointed Dr. Susan Northrup as the federal air surgeon, responsible for all medical programs with the agency. Northrup succeeds Michael Berry, who held the role since January 2017. Northrup, the first female to be selected for the position, oversees airman medical certification, air traffic control specialist medical qualification policy, medical decision-making policy, aeromedical education programs, medical appeals, medical and human factors research, drug and alcohol testing programs, and aircraft accident investigations involving medical factors.

A private pilot and retired U.S. Air Force colonel who served during Desert Storm and Desert Shield, she previously has served as the FAA's acting deputy federal air surgeon and senior regional flight surgeon. Northrup also has held leadership roles as vice-chair for aerospace medicine on the American Board of Preventive Medicine, U.S. head of delegation to NATO’s aeromedical working group, and past president of the American Society of Aerospace Medicine Specialists and the Civil Aviation Medical Association. More recently, she has been the FAA medical subject matter expert to ICAO’s Covid-19 response.

A graduate from The Ohio State University who received her M.D. in 1989, Northrup has received numerous accolades, including as the FAA Flight Surgeon of the Year, TAC Flight Surgeon of the Year, and the recipient of the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters.