Obama to nominate Christopher Hart to chair National Transportation Safety Board

The White House says the president will nominate a lawyer with a history in aviation and transportation safety to head the National Transportation Safety Board.

Christopher Hart joined the board as vice chairman in 2009 and became acting chairman in April. That's when former NTSB chief Deborah Hersman resigned.

Hart has held high-level posts in the FAA, including deputy director for air traffic safety oversight and assistant administrator for system safety.

He served as Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration before moving to the FAA in 1995.

Hart is a licensed pilot with commercial ratings. His great uncle is James Herman Banning. Banning in 1926 became the first African-American to receive a government-issued pilot's license.