Garvey v. National Transportation Safety Board

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge GARLAND:

GARLAND, Circuit Judge:

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an enforcement order to Captain Richard Merrell, a Northwest Airlines pilot whom the FAA determined had violated airline safety regulations. Merrell appealed to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which ruled in his favor and dismissed the FAA’s order. The FAA petitions for review of that decision, arguing that the NTSB erroneously failed to defer to the FAA’s reasonable interpretation of its own regulations. We grant the petition, reverse the NTSB, and…