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Robert A. Sturgell

Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 9, 2026
Entity authorityQ7341299 ↗
Source-derived summary

Robert Allan Sturgell (born August 1, 1959) is a former Acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), having served from September 14, 2007, to January 15, 2009. Appointed to the position on September 14, 2007, by President George W. Bush, he was never confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Prior to his appointment, he had served as Deputy Administrator of the FAA since 2003.

Career

Sturgell has been a pilot in both civilian and military capacities. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1982 and received his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School. He served as an instructor for the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School before retiring as a Commander, having flown the F-14, F-16, and F-18.

After his military career, he became a flight operations supervisor and line pilot for United Airlines, flying Boeing 757s and 767s on domestic and international routes. He also practiced aviation law in the Washington, D.C. area, and served as senior policy adviser at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

In 1998 Sturgell attempted to unseat Maryland Senate majority leader Democrat Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. in the 27th legislative district.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Robert A. Sturgell” as administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Robert, Sturgell and Administrator.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1959, 2007, 2009, 2003—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1959-01-08. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Robert, Sturgell and Administrator providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Robert A. Sturgell”, the useful work is to connect “administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7341299. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1959, 2007, 2009 and 2003.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Robert A. Sturgell” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.